As we speak’s PMQs was a reasonably staid session the place probably the most attention-grabbing motion, from my perspective, came about on the federal government backbenches. However first, the primary occasion: Kemi Badenoch’s six questions for Keir Starmer.
Badenoch went after Starmer on taxes. Will earnings tax, nationwide insurance coverage or worth added tax go up, regardless of this being dominated out in Labour’s election manifesto? Starmer wouldn’t say, falling again on the same old response that this stuff are a matter for the Chancellor on the Price range and that it might be flawed to pre-empt that (it’s in 4 weeks).
Then the Tory chief served what she thought was an ace – she revealed she had requested the identical query, “phrase for phrase”, again in July and acquired a extra forthcoming response. Take your wins the place you could find them, I suppose. However her line of questioning did expose rising authorities evasion concerning the as soon as cast-iron pledge of no tax rises. Starmer promised no return to austerity, suggesting this Price range will likely be mild on departmental spending cuts.
It was a reliable if unimaginative run of questions from Badenoch, although she barely embarrassed herself by making an attempt to assert credit score for Starmer’s £8bn Tycoon jet cope with Turkey, introduced this week.
Two rows behind Starmer, sitting collectively, beside the gangway, have been Angela Rayner and her successor as deputy chief, Lucy Powell. Whereas the remainder of the PLP performed together with the roars, laughter and cheers that characterise these periods, Rayner and Powell each sat in stately silence watching the Prime Minister bat by questions.
Neither of them mentioned a phrase all through the session, bar a murmur from Rayner when Badenoch mentioned she had “resigned in shame”. From the place I used to be sitting within the press gallery, Rayner’s phrases of response seemed to be “it wasn’t a shame”, although I’m no lip reader.
Each girls are actually established as highly effective gamers in Labour politics who’re able to brazenly criticise the PM’s efficiency and political technique. Watch that area. Their schtum act was a distinction to some keen newbies. Henry Tufnell, elected to the beforehand unwinnable rural seat of South Pembrokshire, was so animated in his assist for the Prime Minister that he acquired a telling off from Lindsay Hoyle. “The pantomime season hasn’t arrived,” the Speaker drolled.
Within the mop up of later questions, we witnessed the now acquainted flurry of assaults on Reform from the Labour and Lib Dem benches. Sir Ed Davey requested the PM to start an investigation into Russian meddling in British politics. Starmer took the chance to do a pincer motion on Reform with Davey, claiming that the UK wouldn’t be a trusted member of Nato with a Reform authorities as a result of Farage’s social gathering is, he claimed, “Putin pleasant”.
Anneliese Midgley, the staunch commerce unionist MP for Knowsley, requested if the PM would agree along with her that Reform’s opposition to the Employment Rights Invoice exhibits they’re no pal of the working class. Agree he did.
[Further reading: What’s next for Angela Rayner?]