They’re back. But are they better than ever?
Badenoch was on the attack today [12th November], accusing Starmer of being “weak” and out of control of his Cabinet.
Her claims have come after speculation over Starmer’s weakening grip on his government, and rumours of a potential leadership challenge in the coming months.
Downing Street’s ‘toxic culture’
Badenoch began her attack on Starmer today by accusing him of having created a “toxic culture” within Downing Street, something that the Health Secretary Wes Streeting had said “needs to change” on BBC Breakfast yesterday morning [12th November].
Streeting’s comments came after waves of media speculation have emerged in recent days about him making a potential leadership bid after the Budget in late November.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Streeting denied the speculation as “self-defeating nonsense”, instead saying, in the style of the ever-popular BBC Traitors show: “I am a faithful”
“I’m not challenging the Prime Minister”
In PMQs, Starmer refuted Badenoch’s claims.
“Let me be absolutely clear: any attack on any member of my Cabinet is completely unacceptable.”
He later added: “I have never authorised attacks on Cabinet members.”
He also defended Streeting and his record as Health Secretary, adding that Labour have “delivered 5 million extra appointments” since coming to office last July.
Badenoch laid the blame for Downing Street’s toxicity at one person – Starmer’s Chief of Staff and long-time ally Morgan McSweeney.
McSweeney was appointed Downing Street Chief of Staff after the resignation of Sue Gray in October 2024 – the first of a series of changes to take place amongst the Downing Street operation in Labour’s 15 months in office.
Badenoch alleged that Starmer has “lost control of No. 10”
Starmer denied this completely, instead saying that the government is a “united team.”
Rising unemployment
Badenoch also focused on the stark UK unemployment figures.
It was revealed this week by the Office for National Statistics that the unemployment rate in the UK rose to 5% in the three months up to September 2025, meaning that UK unemployment for over 16 year olds is at its highest level since the covid lockdown of early 2021.
According to Badenoch, this is all due to Labour’s “disastrous Budget”, and in particular the rise in employer national insurance.
She said that the national insurance increase for businesses had been a “stupid mistake” for the government to make.
“It is last year’s tax rises that have killed jobs, and that is what is going to trigger this year’s tax rises.”
“This is the tax doom loop.”
According to Badenoch, the only way out of this is cutting spending, something which Labour vehemently disagrees with.
In the 2024 Budget, Labour increased public spending by around £70 billion annually, and there are no signs of this stopping any time soon.
With the Budget fast approaching, there has been widespread speculation that the government will lift the cap – a move that will potentially cost billions, but lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty.
The two-child benefit cap has been a point of contention for many Labour MPs and activists for years since it was first introduced by the Conservatives in 2015.
ILifting the cap move that has been supported by key figures within both the goverment and wider party – both deputy leadership candidates Bridget Phillipson and Lucy Powell criticised it during their campaigns.
Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also come out strongly in favour of lifting the cap, which he has proposed would could be paid for by increasing taxes on the gambling industry.
Defending the government, Starmer criticised the Tories record on unemployment, stating that: “Average unemployment in the 14 years of her Government was 5.4%—higher than the rate today.”
He also accused Badenoch of making unfunded spending commitments: “They have this unserious idea that they can find £47 billion of cuts without saying where they will come from.”
Trump and the BBC
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey used his two allocated questions to defend the BBC, asking the Prime Minister to guarantee that British taxpayers would not be made liable to pay in Trump’s demand for a $1 billion settlement from the BBC.
Davey also called on Starmer to sack Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s former Downing Street Director of Communications and a current non-executive director on the BBC Board.
“The last Government spent years undermining the BBC’s independence and impartiality.”
Starmer reiterated his support for the BBC, and couldn’t resist agreeing with Davey’s dig at the previous Conservative government.
Farage’s intervention
It was down to Kent Labour MP Sojan Joseph to take a whack at Reform UK today, accusing the county’s Reform led council of “dysfunction”, leading to chaos in Kent’s adult social care and fire services.
Starmer used the carefully planted question to criticise the “staggering incompetence of Reform.”
Farage defended Reform-led councils, using his 30 seconds to highlight the fact that Reform-led West Northamptonshire Council “will be issuing foreclosure notices on three migrant hotels within the next few days.”
He said that this was: “In response to grave public concern about the safety of women and girls on the streets of West Northamptonshire.”
Starmer again took a whack at the inheritance from the previous government, before criticising Farage for failing to condemn a Reform councillor that described children in care as “evil.”
Featured image via House of Commons / Flickr.
