Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer faced a grilling from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister’s Questions today, as he refused to repeat his manifesto pledge to make the UK the fastest growing economy in the G7.
In a testy exchange, Mrs Badenoch pressed Sir Keir on the broken promise, saying: “I think the whole House would have heard him fail to repeat his own pledge. He can’t even repeat the pledges he made just a few weeks ago.”
The Prime Minister attempted to dodge the question, instead pointing to an OECD report that had upgraded the UK’s growth forecasts. But Mrs Badenoch was not convinced, accusing Sir Keir of “obfuscating” and saying he “owes the House an explanation” over the broken pledge.
The clash came as Sir Keir prepares to deliver a major “reset” speech tomorrow, in which he is expected to ditch or downgrade some of Labour’s key manifesto commitments. The G7 growth pledge now appears increasingly likely to be sidelined.
Mrs Badenoch also seized on the resignation of Transport Secretary Louise Haigh, accusing Sir Keir of “knowingly appointing a convicted fraudster” to his Cabinet. The Prime Minister stumbled in his response, mistakenly referring to the Justice Secretary resigning rather than the Transport Secretary.
It was a difficult 15 minutes for Sir Keir, as the Tory leader landed a series of blows and exposed weaknesses in the Prime Minister’s performance. With the economy set to dominate the political agenda in the months ahead, today’s PMQs exchange will be a concerning sign for Labour.
