PMQs LIVE: Kemi Badenoch skewers Keir Starmer and blasts ‘get out more!’

Sir came under pressure from a Labour MP over potential welfare cuts.

The Prime Minister was asked about the changes by Rugby MP John Slinger.

In response to Mr Slinger, Sir Keir said: “I come from a family that dealt with a disability through my mother and brother over many years, so I do understand the concerns that have been raised by him, but we inherited a system which is broken, it is indefensible, economically and morally, and we must and we will reform it.

“We will have clear principles, we will protect those who need protecting. We will also support those who can work, back to work, but Labour is the party of work, we’re also the party of equality and fairness.”

Mr Slinger had referred to one in eight young people currently not being in education, employment or training. He said: “Will the Prime Minister set out how this Government will give everyone who is able to work the support they need, provide compassion to those who can’t work, and fix the broken welfare system left behind by, you guessed it, the .”

Kemi Badenoch claimed the Prime Minister has “no answers today”.

She went on to ask: “Will he use the emergency Budget to fix the mess he’s made?”

Sir responded: “Inflation under them 11%, £22billion black hole, a mini-Budget that made us the laughing stock of the world and they want to give lectures on the economy to us. No thank you very much.”

Kemi Badenoch said: “The Prime Minister is not looking at what is happening out there.

“Every day I speak to businesses who are telling us they think they are going bust and as if businesses and families didn’t have enough to worry about supermarket say prices will increase by over 4% because of the jobs tax.

“And that’s before we get to the immoral family farms tax, on the very farmers who work so hard to produce our food. What does the Prime Minister have against farmers anyway?

“Does he not see that his Budget is killing farming in this country and he is making life so much harder for everyone else?”

The Prime Minister replied: “The Budget provided £5billion for farming over the next two years, that is a record amount.

“We’ve set out a roadmap for farming that has been welcomed by farmers, and many thousands of farms have benefited from the farming schemes.”

The Conservative leader raised fears over how OAPs will get by after Labour axed winter fuel payments for most pensioners.

She said: “People all over the country are suffering, not just in Birmingham, millions of elderly people have had their winter fuel payments snatched away. At the same time, care home fees are set to go up by a devastating £3,000 because of his jobs tax. How does he expect pensioners on a fixed income to make ends meet?”

Sir replied: “This is why it’s so important that wages are up higher than prices. That’s why it’s so important that the are coming down.

“This is the biggest boost for the for a very, very long time. What we’re doing is picking up and fixing the mess that they left.”

Kemi Badenoch accused Sir of talking “trash” prompting the Commons to erupt.

She said: “The point is he promised to freeze and (council taxes) are going up.

“And if he wants to talk about councils, let’s look at Liverpool or maybe Birmingham where the rubbish is piling up so high. People vote Labour – all they get is trash, just like what he’s saying at the despatch box.”

Kemi Badenoch said: “The Prime Minister is out of touch because he should know that nurseries are charging over £2,000 for full-time care – that’s £24,000-a-year after tax – and he’s talking about 60p breakfast clubs. He has no idea what people out there are experiencing.

“And it is not just the families. Even councils must pay his jobs tax.

“To cope with it, the average council tax bill is increasing by over £100 in April after he promised to freeze it. Hardworking families’ money is going to the Chancellor instead of social care and fixing potholes. Why should these families pay more for less?”

Sir said the Tory leader “shouldn’t denigrate” the Government’s free breakfast clubs policy.

He added: “And she asks about council tax – the put up council tax every year for 12 years.”

Kemi Badenoch insisted Sir “needs to get out more” as she continued to attack him over the Budget.

The leader of the Opposition said: “The Prime Minister needs to get out more. Inflation is up, and estimates of job losses are between 130,000 and 300,000. His tax rises are hurting every sector of the economy. Things are getting worse for nurseries.

“Nurseries are writing to stressed parents right now telling them that fees will go up because of his jobs tax. Can he explain how more expensive childcare is good for the economy or for working families struggling to make ends meet?”

The Prime Minister said: “We’re putting in childcare. Look at the breakfast clubs – two in her constituency. But she’s rather forgetting the £22 billion black hole that they left that we had to deal with.

“That’s why we had to take the necessary but right measures we did in the budget. And what’s her response? Not that she’d reverse them, oh no, she doesn’t say that.

“She attacks what we’ve done, but she doesn’t say she would reverse it, because she wants all the benefits of our budget in terms of investment, but she doesn’t want to pay for it. That’s how we got into the mess in the first place.”

Kemi Badenoch used her first question to ask about the impact of Labour’s tax-hiking Budget.

She also pressed Sir on calls by murdered MP Sir David Amess’s family for a public inquiry into his killing.

The Tory leader said: “Later today, the Prime Minister is meeting the family of Sir David Amess. Sir David gave this House and our country 40 years of service. I hope the Prime Minister will agree that getting the response to his murder right is vital, not just to his family but to our democracy.

“Every week I speak to businesses who are letting go of staff or closing. Has the Prime Minister been given an estimate of how many people will lose their jobs because of his budget?”

The Prime Minister replied: “On the question of Sir David, he was a deeply loved and respected colleague. Behind me is the plaque, as is the plaque to Jo Cox in front of me, and I know this was deeply felt by the House, but particularly as I acknowledged at the time by the party opposite who lost a colleague and a friend in the most awful of circumstances. I am meeting the Amess family later on today, and will make sure that they get answers to the questions that they ask.

“In relation to businesses, I am really pleased to say we have got thousands of new jobs into the economy. We have got more investment in the last 20 years, an absolute record. Wages are up higher than prices, three cuts, the best boost for the for a very long time.”

Sir is at the despatch box as PMQs gets underway.

Sir has left 10 Downing Street to head to Parliament for PMQs.

Sir will face Kemi Badenoch in Prime Minister’s Questions at midday.

There are plenty of topics for the Tory leader to choose from to grill the PM on including ‘s tariffs.

Some Labour MPs are also up in arms over welfare cuts expected to be announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves later this month.

And Labour has sparked fresh fury from farmers after stopping a key green farming scheme without warning.

Daily Express political editor Martyn Brown outlines what we could expect in today’s PMQs session.