Keir Starmer torpedos election petition after sinking weird Kemi Badenoch query at PMQs
Keir Stamer laughed off a bizarre question from Kemi Badenoch about a petition calling for a General Election as it neared three million signatures.
Prime Minister’s Questions started with Mr Starmer welcoming the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon in the early hours of the morning. He said it is long overdue but demonstrates diplomacy does work. He also praised those working those affected by floods in the UK.
Then in a bizarre exchange, the Tory leader Kemi Badenoch suggested Keir Starmer should “resign” as Prime Minister to discover the Conservatives’ plans on tax and spending.
It came after Ms Badenoch suggested she wouldn’t reverse the hike in national insurance contributions for employees set out at the Budget – despite attacking the £20billion tax increase. She also raised the petition calling for the PM to resign but didn’t expect his response.
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Ms Badenoch said: “There’s a petition out there, 2 million people asking him to go. He’s the one who doesn’t know how things work… It is not government that creates growth, Mr Speaker, it is business. His employment secretary, she wants more young people in work but businesses say they are cutting jobs because of the chancellor’s budget.
“The CBI said on Monday that the dots of the government’s policy do not join up. They’re right aren’t they?”
Starmer hit back to loud cheers: “She talks about a petition, we had a massive petition on the 4th of July in this country. We spent years taking our party from a party of protest to a party of government. They’re hurtling in the opposite direction.”
The petition, created by a Michael Westwood, received a huge boost in signatures after being promoted by Elon Musk on his X platform. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch uses her first question at PMQs to grill Keir Starmer on Rachel Reeves‘ promise on no more taxes.
Asked to repeat the pledge, the PM says the government’s position was set out at the Budget. “I’m not going to write the next five years of Budgets at the despatch box, ” he says.
Kemi Badenoch says he has refused to repeat the Chancellor’s pledge. Mr Starmer says: “Two weeks ago she stood there saying she wanted all the investment [in the NHS]…. they really haven’t got a clue what they are doing.”
