Keir Starmer told racists “you will never win” as he hailed the benefits of immigration to the UK.
The prime minister said that while he understood the concerns of those who think too many people are moving to the UK from abroad, the answer was not the “violent thuggery” which took place during this summer’s riots.
He delivered his uncompromising message in his keynote speech to the Labour conference in Liverpool, in which he also defended the government’s decision to axe winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners.
Starmer said: “Whatever anyone thinks about immigration, I will never accept the argument made not just by the usual suspects, but by people who should have known better, who said that millions of people concerned about immigration are one and the same thing as the people who smashed up businesses.
“Who targeted mosques, attempted to burn refugees, scrawled racist graffiti over walls. Nazi salutes at the cenotaph. Attacked NHS nurses. And told people, with different coloured skin, people who contribute here, people who grew up here, that they should ‘go home’.
“People concerned about immigration were not doing that because they understand that this country, this democratic country, is built on the rule of law. The ballot box. The common understanding that we debate our differences. We do not settle them with violent thuggery. And racism is vile.
“So to those who equivocate about this, I simply say - the country sees you and it rejects you.
“And to those who say that the only way to love your country is to hate your neighbour because they look different, I say not only do we reject you, we know that you will never win.
“Because the British values we stand for, not just the rule of law, but a love for this country and our neighbours, the respect for difference under the same flag, that is stronger than bricks and you know it.
“It’s what you cannot stand about our country - our reasonable, tolerant country - but it is absolutely who we are.”
He said he understood people’s anger at the cuts to winter fuel payments, but insisted that “the cost of filling that black hole in our public finances, that will be shared fairly”.
In a speech light on policy, the PM confirmed Labour’s manifesto pledge that military veterans, care leavers and domestic abuse victims will be given priority when it comes to allocating housing.
He also announced that GB Energy, the government-run body committed to boosting the amount of renewable energy produced in the UK, will be based in Aberdeen.
The PM vowed to improve the lives of everyone in the country by reforming the NHS, cracking down on crime, controlling the UK’s borders and building new homes, hospitals, roads and schools.
“That is what people will get, and mark my words - we will deliver it,” he said.