Prime minister’s questions: a shouty, jeery, very occasionally useful advert for British politics. Here’s what you need to know from the latest session in POLITICO’s weekly run-through.
What they sparred about: The economy, stupid. In their first joust since the summer recess, Tory Leader Kemi Badenoch went toe-to-toe with Prime Minister Keir Starmer ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ second budget, now confirmed for Nov. 26. But it was a matter closer to home that caused the PM discomfort.
Home truths: Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner admitted Wednesday she did not pay enough stamp duty on a second home and referred herself to the standards watchdog. It was an open goal for Badenoch. She tried to strike, asking of Rayner “why she is still in office?” but didn’t end her first question there — choosing to ask instead about government borrowing stats.
House in order: The PM gave an answer reminiscent of Boris Johnson’s comments during the Partygate scandal, insisting Rayner had gone “over and above” and “explained her personal circumstances in detail,” knowing “just how difficult” it was to refer herself to the independent adviser on the ministerial code.
Bricking it: Badenoch, unsurprisingly, wasn’t satisfied, suggesting that the PM wouldn’t have “all that sympathy if it was a Conservative deputy prime minister” and that if Starmer had “backbone, he would sack her.” The PM happily distinguished between now and the Tory era, arguing there “wouldn’t have been the accountability that there now is in place because they spent years and years avoiding it.” Inspiring stuff, guys.
To be clear: The revelation from Rayner, just 30 minutes before PMQs started, was embarrassing for the PM — only fueling the charge from parties like Reform UK that the Tories and Labour are one and same. But Badenoch’s decision not to junk her previous questions and devote all six to Rayner’s predicament raised more than a few eyebrows.
Back to the economy: There was the usual back and forth over who managed the public finances more disastrously. Badenoch said the Tories left Starmer the “fastest growing economy,” an assertion the PM said was “about as credible as her place at Stanford University, frankly” after the Guardian raised doubt as to whether she was ever offered a place at the school.
Tick tock: Badenoch reasonably asked about why the budget was so late in the fall, claiming it was “clear that taxes are going up for everyone, except perhaps the deputy prime minister.” Starmer insisted Labour were just going through the “due process” for a budget, unlike the Tories who “blew up the economy.” The originality here is next level.
Barraging the Farage: Starmer had a pop at perhaps the real opposition leader in British politics, Reform UK’s Nigel Farage, who skipped PMQs to give evidence to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee about free speech in Europe. The PM accused Farage of lobbying Americans to “impose sanctions on this country to harm working people” and you “cannot get more unpatriotic than that.” Tell us what you really think, Keir!
Helpful backbench intervention of the week: Birmingham Erdington MP Paulette Hamilton praised Labour West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker for supporting local businesses and asked Starmer to confirm his government would do the same. In a groundbreaking move, Starmer did just that. What a news line!
Totally unscientific scores on the doors: Starmer 6/10. Badenoch 4/10. The first PMQs of the fall couldn’t have been worse timed for the PM, after his second in command admitted a serious tax error. But it was a blunder Badenoch failed to capitalize on, largely sticking to prepared questions on the economy. While Starmer’s responses won’t have appeased his strongest critics, the PM’s holding responses allowed him to escape largely unscathed.
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