Smouldering Kemi Badenoch torches Keir Starmer over spluttering economy

Kemi Starmer’s brief turn as “leader of the free world” came to a rather jolting end as he was reminded of the domestic woes of the country’s spluttering economy. The Prime Minister has had a fruitful fortnight in which he has schmoozed and his whiskered henchman JD Vance while leading global efforts to bring peace to .

But he was faced with an altogether different, and no less unpredictable, challenge during PMQs. It’s fair to say Kemi Badenoch has had a few uncertain weeks behind the Despatch Box of late, with her scattergun questions failing to pin down the PM during their weekly showdowns. But the Tory leader was near to her smouldering best on Wednesday as she accused Sir Keir of talking “trash” and leading a “job-killing Government”.

She was on terra firma, trashing the Labour leader’s mishandling of the economy and savaging Rachel Reeves’s botched Budget.

And she urged the PM to show some metal following the US president’s steel tariff bombshell, telling him to hurry up and sort out a trade deal with America.

Mrs Badenoch warned of growing job losses, suggesting to the Labour leader that he “needs to get out more” so he can find out what is going on in the real world.

Sir Keir, sounding ever more like high-pitched, nasally Michael Caine, chortled that he did not need any “lectures” on the economy from the .

But every time the PM scrambled to defend his economic inactions he was met with a barrage of noise from the Tory benches.

Crouched on the steps between the Commons green benches, Andrew Bowie, the enthusiastic Shadow Scottish Secretary, was particularly vexed – gesticulating like John Travolta on a 1970s disco floor.

The big Westminster news of the week has, of course, been the prize fight between Reform UK’s and the now ousted Rupert Lowe.

Our Nige, flanked by his ever-loyal chief whip Lee Anderson, dutifully took his place during PMQs, but there was no sign of former football baron Lowe.

The rest of the session rattled along with the Prime Minister fielding some tricky questions on welfare cuts and Labour’s latest assault on farmers.

Sir Keir was also asked whether he will grant a public inquiry into murdered Tory MP Sir David Amess following his daughter Katie’s heartfelt plea earlier this week.

The PM, who was due to meet the Amess family on Wednesday, said he will “make sure that they get answers to the questions that they ask”.