Keir Starmer was condemned as “patronising” by Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister’s Questions this lunchtime, as they engaged in a hate-filled war of words.
The pair returned to jousting after a two week break, descending into a verbal Punch and Judy match over the PM’s defence spending plans.
Ms Badenoch opened with a light-hearted dig, joking that Sir Keir had taken on her suggestion of funding a defence uplift by cutting foreign aid spending.
She quipped: “Over the weekend I suggested to the Prime Minister that he cut the aid budget, and I’m pleased he accepted my advice. Mr Speaker, it’s the fastest response I’ve ever had from the Prime Minister!”
However Sir Keir hit back that the Tory leader hadn’t featured in his thinking at all, adding a brutal dig referencing a recent speech where she claimed the must revive in order to save the west.
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The Tory leader slammed the PM (Image: Parliament Live)
He clapped back: “I’m going to have to let the leader of the opposition down gently, she didn’t feature in my thinking at all!”
“I was so busy over the weekend I didn’t even see her proposal – I think she’s appointed herself saviour of the western civilisation in a desperate search for relevance.”
Amid loud laughter from Labour MPs, he insisted that his defence spending announcement yesterday does represent a £13.4 billion cash increase for the military, despite criticism from the IFS that he’s fiddling the figures.
Asking the same question a second time after accusing the PM of refusing to provide a clear answer about how much extra will be spent on defence, Ms Badenoch said: “That wasn’t very clear!”
However an increasingly irritated Prime Minister hit back: “We went through this two weeks ago of going over the same question over and over again.”
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Sir Keir accused Ms Badenoch of a ‘desperate search for relevance’ (Image: Getty)
“If you take the financial year this year and then take the financial year for 2028, the difference between the two is £13.4 billion.
“That’s the same answer, if she asks again I’ll give the same answer again.”
Ms Badenoch then hit back that “someone needs to tell the Prime Minister that being patronising is not a substitute for answering questions!”
“He hasn’t answered. What he has said is different to what he said yesterday. We’re still not clear where the money is coming from.”