Kemi Badenoch and Sir Keir Starmer (Image: PA)
Kemi Badenoch hit out at Sir Keir Starmer over the first resignation from his Cabinet during a fiery PMQs.
Louise Haigh stood down as transport secretary last Friday after it emerged she had pleaded guilty to a criminal offence related to incorrectly telling police that a work mobile phone was stolen in 2013.
The Tory leader said: "The Prime Minister knowingly appointed a convicted fraudster to be his transport secretary. What was he thinking?"
The Prime Minister replied: "The previous transport secretary was right when further information came forward to resign - what a marked contrast from behaviour in the last 14 years."
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9 hours ago12:38 Katie Harris
Badenoch mocks Starmer's reset
Kemi Badenoch took aim at Sir Keir Starmer ahead of a major speech tomorrow which is aimed at getting his premiership back on track just five months in.
She said: “Tomorrow he is going to have an emergency reset. just five months into his premiership. Why should anyone believe a word he says?”
The PM replied: “The only relaunch on that side of the House is the leadership bids of her rivals.”
9 hours ago12:37 Katie Harris
Badenoch highlights warnings from business over NI rise
Kemi Badenoch raised a warning by celebrity chef Tom Kerridge, who backed Labour at the election, about increasing employers' national insurance contributions in the Budget.
The Tory leader said: "Why won’t he listen to businesses who are saying his Budget is catastrophic?”
The Prime Minister said: "She complains about the rise in national insurance week after week but then two weeks ago she said she wouldn't reverse it."
9 hours ago12:18 Katie Harris
Badenoch turns to Budget tax row
Kemi Badenoch said: “He can try and change the topic as much as he likes but the public are watching. He owes them an explanation.
“The country needs conviction politicians, not politicians with convictions."
The Tory leader then turned to the Budget after the PM refused to repeat a recent promise by the Chancellor not to increase taxes again.
She said: "Last week the Prime Minister failed to repeat the Chancellor's pledge of no more borrowing and no more taxes. It is obvious that they are coming back for more.
“In his manifesto he committed to making Britain the fastest growing economy in the G7. Does he stand by his own pledge?”
The PM said: "I'd gently remind her that two of her predecessors had convictions for breaking the Covid rules."
He went on to urge Mrs Badenoch to “look at the OECD report of this morning which is upgraded growth for next year and the year after which now puts us on target to be the highest growing major economy in Europe in the next two years”.
9 hours ago12:16 Katie Harris
Badenoch accuses Starmer of 'never' answering questions
Kemi Badenoch said Sir Keir Starmer “never answers any questions and it looks like he didn’t ask his transport secretary any questions either”.
She said: “The truth is he appointed a person convicted of fraud to the Cabinet. The first thing she did was bung hundreds of millions of pounds in pay rises to her trade union friends.
”Wasn’t this a fraud on the British people?”
The PM said: "No."
Sir Keir Starmer responds at PMQs (Image: PA)
9 hours ago12:08 Katie Harris
Starmer declines to reveal further information about Haigh
Kemi Badenoch insisted Sir Keir Starmer "owes the House an explanation" over Louise Haigh's exit from his Cabinet.
She said: "He said that the former transport secretary was only asked to resign after further information came to light. What was that further information?"
The PM replied: "I'm not going to disclose private information. Further information came to light, the (transport) secretary resigned, as I say, what a marked contrast.
"Whilst she's obsessing with the Westminster issues, we're getting on with fixing the mess, fixing foundations, that ￡22 billion black hole, our prisons bursting.
"As we found out last week, nearly a million net migration numbers, because of the Tory open borders policy."
9 hours ago12:05 Katie Harris
Badenoch grills Starmer over Haigh resignation
Kemi Badenoch used her first question to ask Sir Keir Starmer about the resignation of Louise Haigh as transport secretary.
Ms Haigh quit on Friday after it emerged she had pleaded guilty to a criminal offence related to incorrectly telling police that a work mobile phone was stolen in 2013.
The Tory leader said: “The Prime Minister knowingly appointed a convicted fraudster to be his transport secretary. What was he thinking?"
The PM replied: "The previous transport secretary was right when further information came forward to resign - what a marked contrast from behaviour in the last 14 years."
Kemi Badenoch grills the PM (Image: PA)
9 hours ago12:00 Katie Harris
PMQs kicks off
Sir Keir Starmer is at the despatch box in the Commons as PMQs gets underway.
9 hours ago12:00 Katie Harris
Hoyle tells off late MPs
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has just kicked off at two MPs who arrived late for PMQs.
He said it was “disgraceful” and told them to “read the room”.
10 hours ago11:40 Katie Harris
Starmer leaves No 10
Sir Keir Starmer has left 10 Downing Street to head to PMQs.
The Prime Minister leaves No 10 (Image: PA)
11 hours ago10:54 Katie Harris
What to expect at today's PMQs
Daily Express senior political correspondent Christian Calgie breaks down what could come up when Sir Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.
PMQs Predictions: Labour refused 57 times to come clean on the jobs tax - will we find out today? \ud83d\udc40 @christiancalgie#Labour #PMQs #Parliament #Tories #DailyExpress pic.twitter.com/GrtzRiPb8h
\u2014 Daily Express (@Daily_Express) December 4, 2024
11 hours ago10:43 Katie Harris
Starmer and Badenoch to clash at PMQs
Kemi Badenoch is set to grill Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs in the Commons at midday.
The Conservative leader has plenty of topics to ask the Prime Minister about including a crunch vote the Tories are forcing later today on Labour's inheritance tax raid on family farms and other businesses.
There is also Sir Keir's bid to reset his premiership after just five months in No 10 with a major speech tomorrow amid a backlash to the Budget, plummeting poll ratings and the first resignation from his Cabinet.
And there is a row over Chancellor Rachel Reeves refusing to repeat her promise not to raise taxes further after October's Budget.
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