The final Prime Minister’s Questions of a parliamentary session is often quite a demob-happy affair with a pantomime atmosphere. Today’s, though, was more important for Keir Starmer, who is now in a daily battle to show that he’s still got enough support to keep going a bit longer. He didn’t have a bad session, but as with many of the events in the Commons this week, it won’t make much difference to his longevity. 

Badenoch’s opener drew a contrast between the start of the parliamentary session, when ‘sycophantic’ Labour MPs had asked Starmer supportive questions, and this week, when the ‘Prime Minister was reduced to begging those same MPs to save his own skin’. She told the Chamber that he had broken his promise to grow the economy and that the only thing that had grown was the welfare bill.

How many more people were out of work and claiming benefits since he took office, she asked. Starmer sprang up to list the things his government had done around employment and then widened it out to increasing police numbers and energy bills, praising the ministers responsible rather pointedly as well. It was almost as though he was still on a charm offensive to persuade colleagues to support him. 

The Tory leader accused Starmer and Reeves of not being ‘serious’ about the economy

The Tory leader accused Starmer........

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