Lloyd Evans

At PMQs this week, Sir Keir Starmer got a proper grilling for a change. Kemi Badenoch used smarter tactics: short questions sharply focused; half-truths instantly rebutted. The Tory leader abandoned her normal habit of covering the entire spectrum of Labour’s shortcomings. She focused on their worst error: economic stagnation caused by the tax-grab Budget. Why, she asked, is the Chancellor holding ‘an emergency budget next week?’ A near fib from Starmer. She’d caught him out Sir Keir gave her a formulaic reply, crowing about his glorious achievements. ‘Record investment... three interest rate cuts...wages going up faster than prices.’ Kemi dismissed this as balderdash.

If Kemi Badenoch has a plan, she’s keeping it hidden. At PMQs she used her scattergun approach to complain about unemployment, farming, winter fuel payments, council tax, increases in NI, business closures, food-aid for underfed kids and the murder of David Amess. Eventually, she reached the chancellor’s awkward ‘spring statement’ which would have made a much better starting point. There was no shape to her performance, no dramatic climax, no electrifying revelation to dominate the afternoon news. And she’s low on energy. Does she even need six questions? She should sell half of them to the SNP who are adept at concealing illicit financial deals from the auditors.  Her best moment came when she mentioned the stinking dunes of refuse gathering in Labour-run Birmingham.

A bit of a stitch-up at PMQs, or so it seemed. The ‘opposition’ leader, Kemi Badenoch, ignored her duty to voters and spent ten minutes feeding softball questions to Sir Keir Starmer about President Zelensky. At issue was Donald Trump’s decision on Monday to withdraw military aid from Ukraine. Kemi meekly asked Sir Keir if he might help. ‘What is he doing to rebuild their relationship after a challenging week?’ Sir Keir can do nothing, obviously. Trump has lost patience with the leader of an impoverished, war-sick country whose eastern fringes are occupied by a hostile superpower. Britain has no influence either way. But Sir Keir wants to pose as a crucial member of an imaginary triumvirate that can redraw the map of Eastern Europe.

Strange atmosphere at PMQs. Our MPs seemed to believe that the Commons debate was a vital briefing session for Sir Keir Starmer as he prepares to meet President Trump in Washington. Everyone advised the PM how to handle himself. But it's far too late. Sir Keir has already grovelled to his new master by pledging to buy bombs and bullets instead of spending cash on failed states overseas.  Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, joked that Sir Keir had slashed the aid budget on her personal recommendation. ‘I’m glad he accepted my advice. It’s the fastest response I’ve ever had from the Prime Minister.’ Sir Keir answered with facetious gallantry. ‘I’m sorry to let her down but she didn’t figure in my thinking at all.

Kemi Badenoch has made PMQs her own. Her own what? Her own select committee. That’s how she runs it. She asks long rambling questions that exhibit her knowledge of the subject. Then she hands over to Sir Keir who rambles back at her, taking his time, feeling no pressure to answer. Not much drama or excitement at all. Kemi, with her beautiful manners and perfectly modulated English, has the air of a head girl investigating a fire at the hockey pavilion. Sir Keir answers with glib and defensive evasions that are often delivered in exasperated tones. His preening vanity is plain for all to see and yet Kemi can’t burst his bubble.  Today she asked about his beleaguered attorney general. He just huffed and puffed back at her.

Genuinely, a historic day at PMQs. The plates are shifting. Labour whips spotted that Nigel Farage’s name was on the order paper so they got a house-trained pipsqueak, John Slinger, to give Sir Keir Starmer a chance to launch a pre-emptive strike. Slinger was called first and he asked about Farage’s remark that Reform is ‘open to anything’ on the NHS. Sir Keir took his cue and declared that the NHS will always be ‘free at the point of use’, falsely suggesting that Reform plans to scrap this principle. Then Farage was called. His question was salty but unremarkable. He asked Sir Keir to explain to an RAF veteran why the winter fuel allowance has been scrapped while money is available to subsidise the surrender of the Chagos Islands.

Great stuff from Kemi Badenoch at PMQs. She was entertaining, tricky, probing, unpredictable. If she keeps this up she may attract more Tory members to the chamber on Wednesdays. Many seem to find other things to do. She began by calling Sir Keir a liar: ‘Speaking about the employment bill last week he misled the house. He was not on top of his own bill.’ Up popped the Speaker. ‘We can’t accuse the Prime Minister of misleading the house.’ That got everyone’s attention. Kemi should try it each week That got everyone’s attention. Kemi should try it each week. She rephrased her question and started to go through the bill in detail. She quoted paragraphs, subclauses, numbers in brackets. She knew the fiddly bits in the margins that nobody looks at.

The Commons was half asleep at PMQs. Trump’s re-election has severely damaged Sir Keir Starmer’s authority. Last summer, he unwisely allowed his Labour colleagues to campaign for the worst presidential candidate in American history. When Kamala lost, so did the Labour leader who now has zero influence over the US. He couldn’t even bring himself to say ‘Trump’ today, let alone to acknowledge his inauguration on Monday.  Kemi Badenoch might have gloated over Sir Keir’s American gamble but she ignored it entirely. And she failed to bring up the Southport triple-killer. As if obeying the Labour whips, she asked about education, and she claimed that Tory reforms had propelled Britain’s kids to the top of the international league tables.