In a time where Labour’s polling prospects are increasingly negative, and the prospect of a Reform government looks increasingly as if it’s on the near horizon, Badenoch’s questions about his leadership and government record must sting particularly hard for Starmer.

Starmer’s leadership

In a damning endictment of his leadership, Badenoch today branded Starmer a “caretaker Prime Minister”, whose weakness as Labour leader has led to his fellow front-bench ministers being “busy trying to replace him.”

In particular, Badenoch accused former Labour leader and current Energy Secretary Ed Miliband of aspiring to “recycle himself as leader” – reprising the ultimately ill-fated role he held from 2010 to 2015.

She also said of Health Secretary Wes Streeting “he definitely wants the job” of Prime Minister. Rumours have been circulating for months of potential leadership plots by Streeting.

Streeting has so far denied reports of any plans to challenge Starmer’s leadership.

Labour’s record in government

Badenoch also put Labour’s record so far in government under pressure, using four of her six allocated questions to unpick Labour’s manifesto promises on energy, education, policing and the NHS.

On energy, she criticised Labour’s promise to cut energy bills by £300, instead claiming that they have risen by £187. Starmer disputed this, saying that under Labour families have seen £150 taken off their energy bills, with an extra £150 off bills for the 6 million poorest families.

Badenoch attacked Labour’s pledge to recruit 6,500 extra teachers, claiming that there are now 400 fewer teachers since Labour came into office last July.

She also questioned Labour’s progress towards their commitment to recruit 13,000 additional police officers, saying that there are now 1,300 fewer police officers than at the time of the last election. Starmer countered this, claiming there will by 3,000 additional officers by the end of March 2026.

To round off her attack on Labour’s record, Badenoch criticised the government’s failure to prevent upcoming strike action by resident doctors under the British Medical Association. She claimed that under Labour, 93,000 NHS appointments have been lost to strike action.

According to Badenoch, under Labour: “Everything is getting worse.”

She also called on Starmer to “admit that Labour is not working.”

Starmer responded by repeatedly attacking the Conservative record, saying: “They should be utterly ashamed of their record in service.”

He also accused Badenoch of having “no credibility”, emphasising her association with Liz Truss’ financially calamitous premiership.

The EU question

The question of Britain rejoining the customs union with the EU was today raised by both Lib Dem leader Ed Davey and Plaid Cymru Commons leader Liz Saville Roberts.

Davey argued that re-joining the customs union with the EU would help grow the British economy, a key priority of Starmer’s government, and speculated Starmer would “not be standing there” at the dispatch box in 12 months without a customs union agreement with the EU.

On Europe, Starmer said: “Yes, I do want a closer relationship.”

But, “it is not now sensible to unravel what is the best [trade] deal with the US.”

Saville Roberts also raised the question of Britain rejoining the customs union, stating that “Wales has been hardest hit by Brexit”, and went further than Davey in calling on Starmer to “rejoin the customs union and the single market.”

Responding to Saville Roberts, Starmer again highlighted the importance of Britain’s trade deal with the US, particularly the recent deal on pharma, which he labelled “the best of its kind in the world.”

Final thoughts

Badenoch’s attack today was particularly brutal and wide-ranging – rather than sticking to one theme in her line of questioning, as she usually does, her questions covered broad strokes of the government’s agenda.

Delivery is of key concern for Starmer’s government now, with crucial elections coming up in May and the prospect of a Reform deluge across the country.

A question mark also remains hanging over his leadership, although, for now at least, Starmer is in the clear.

Featured image via House of Commons.

Kicking of PMQs today [3rd December], Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced government plans to reduce the cost of infant formula, in plans that Starmer said will save new parents up to £500 “before their child’s first birthday.”

Starmer linked this to the government’s wider efforts to tackle the cost of living crisis for families, with other actions such as cutting energy bills by £150 per family and introducing breakfast clubs for primary school children.

The Budget looms large

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch used her allocated questions today to hit out at a Budget that she has repeatedly labelled as the “Budget for “Benefits Street””.

Badenoch used the recent resignation of Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) chief Richard Hughes to urge the Prime Minister to resign, saying: “Does the Prime Minister believe that when an organisation descends into total shambles, the person at the top should resign?”

“The Prime Minister does not want to answer a question about taking responsibility, because he likes to blame everyone except himself, and so does the Chancellor.”

Hughes resigned on Monday [1st December] following an investigation into how the OBR leaked the Budget in its entirety about an hour before Reeves’ Commons announcement last week. Hughes has taken full responsibility for the error, which revealed Reeves plans in the minutes before she was due to speak to the Commons.

Badenoch was also particularly critical of pre-Budget briefings by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, in which Reeves seemed to indicate that she was planning to raise income tax: “If she were a CEO, she would have been fired, and she might even have been prosecuted for market abuse.”

“We know that there were endless Treasury briefings to justify raising taxes on hard-working people to pay for benefits and those briefings had real-world consequences.”

Starmer hit back at this, bringing back Labour’s favourite Conservative-bashing statistic from last year, the “£22 billion black hole.”

“Picking up a £16 billion tab for the Conservatives’ failure is not a good starting point for any Budget.”

He also defended his Chancellor, saying: “The OBR said yesterday that the Chancellor’s speech was not misleading, so if the Leader of the Opposition had any decency, she would get up now and apologise.”

Badenoch also criticised Starmer’s U-turn on the two-child benefit cap. While Labour lifted the cap in the Budget last week, in July 2024 seven Labour MPs had the party whip removed for voting for an SNP motion to scrap the cap.

In making the U-turn, Badenoch accused Starmer of cowing to his backbenchers: “He cannot run his own party, let alone the country.”

In response, Starmer affirmed the government’s mission to tackle child poverty: “We are taking half a million children out of poverty, and we are very proud to do so.”

“We are building a brighter future.”

The Kent water crisis

Continuing water shortages in and around Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent were the subject of Lib Dem leader Ed Davey’s first question today.

Thousands of residents have been out of water for five days, which Davey labelled a “public health emergency.”

He called on the Prime Minister to “convene Cobra”, which Starmer, while sympathetic to the issues, did not explicitly commit to.

In response to this, Davey said: “The Government will need to do more, because South East Water has failed so badly.”

Trials without jury

Another controversial government proposal, Tory MP Paul Holmes hit out against the government’s much-criticised plans to scrap trials with jury in some cases in an effort to speed up prosecutions across England and Wales.

There are currently 78,000 cases waiting to be heard in Crown Courts in England and Wales – it is this extreme backlog has led the government to propose these drastic changes.

Starmer responded by accusing the Conservatives of leaving behind a “broken criminal justice system.”

He said: “We are making sensible changes to ensure that victims get justice, which was denied to them under the failure left by the Conservatives.”

Final thought

The continued focus on the Budget this week reflects just how controversial it has been in Westminster – there’s little chance that Badenoch or the Tories will end their attack on Reeves’ measures any time soon.

Featured image via House of Commons.

Reeves’ second historic budget got off to a somewhat rocky start after it was mistakenly released early by the Office for Budget Responsibility, a blunder which Reeves labelled as “deeply disappointing.”

What was already announced pre-budget

Reeves’ budget has been subject to waves of speculation over the last few weeks – and prior to the official budget announcement, the Treasury had already made a number of announcements.

Yesterday [25th November], Reeves announced increases to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage.

The National Living Wage will rise to £12.71 per hour for workers over the age of 21, and the National Minimum Wage for those age 18 to 20 will rise to £10.85 per hour. The National Minimum Wage for 16 and 17 year olds and apprentices will rise to £8 per hour.

Reeves said: “These changes mean that from April, the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage will boost the pay packets of around 2.7 million workers”

The government also announced pre-Budget a freezing of rail fairs in England, and investment for 250 neighbourhood health centres across the country.

The key budget headlines:

Economic growth

The OBR have this year upgraded UK economic growth from 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent, although they have also reduced their expectations of productivity growth by 0.3 per cent to 1 per cent.

Reeves however was optimistic, saying: “We beat the forecasts this year and we will beat them again.”

Tax

After much media speculation, Reeves today confirmed that income tax thresholds will be frozen until 2031 – meaning that millions of Britons will pay more tax, as inflation means more are dragged into higher income tax brackets.

A ‘mansion tax’ will also be introduced, a council tax surcharge for homes in England worth over £2 million. From April 2028, those living in a house worth £2 million will have a pay a surcharge of £2,500, which will rise in bands up to £7,500 for properties valued over £5 million.

Reeves has also introduced what has been labelled as a ‘smorgasbord’ of other taxes, changes that she said are “reforming our tax system.”

These include an increased tax on gambling – from 21 per cent to 40 per cent on remote gaming duty, and from 15 per cent to 25 per cent on online betting duty.

It was also previously announced by Health Secretary Wes Streeting that the sugar tax will be extended to pre-prepared milkshakes and lattes.

ISA savings

The ISA system will be reformed from April 2027, with the current £20,000 allowance unchanged but savers limited to investing just £12,000 of this into a cash ISA – the other £8,000 will need to be invested in a stocks and shares ISA.

Over 65s will be exempt from this.

Benefits and pensions

A move popular among backbench Labour MPs and activists, including former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the two-child benefit cap will be lifted, which she said will pull 450,000 children out of poverty – the “biggest reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since records began.”

The rates of the basic and new state pension will also be increased by 4.8%, and Reeves affirmed her commitment to the pension triple lock.

Salary sacrifice, in which workers can sacrifice a portion of their salary into a pension, will be capped at £2,000 a year for employee contributions from April 2029. Reeves said that under the current system “the greatest benefit [is] going to the highest earners.”

Devolved regions

Reeves announced increased investment for the UK’s devolved regional governments – £370 million for Northern Ireland, £505 million for Wales and £820 for Scotland.

Young people

Reeves said that £820 million will be invested over the next three years to give young people: “The support and opportunity that they deserve, guaranteeing every young person a place in college, an apprenticeship or personalised job support.”

Apprenticeships will be further boosted, as training for apprentices under age 25 will be made free for small and medium-sized businesses.

This builds off of previous government announcements, including that young people not in education, employment or training will be offered paid work rather than benefits after 18 months.

Plan 2 student loan repayments will also be frozen for a further three years at their 2026-27 level, meaning more graduates will pay their loans back as inflation pushes wages up over time.

So, good for apprentices, bad for (some) graduates.

Final thoughts

Reeves was at pains to emphasise the collective nature of sacrifices in society: “I have asked everyone to contribute”, and the government’s reforming agenda.

This budget, as most of this Labour government, has been presented as being for “working people” – only time will tell if working people see it that way too.

Featured image via House of Commons / Flickr.

The 21st November is used as it marks the passing of the Qualification of Women Act 1918, which granted the vote to (some) women in Britain for the first time.

To celebrate Ask Her To Stand Day 2025, 50:50 Parliament hosted a panel in Parliament of inspiring political women from across the political spectrum. The panel was chaired by 50:50 Parliament CEO Lyanne Nicholl and included:

• Stella Creasy – Labour Member of Parliament for Walthamstow
• Helen Maguire – Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Epsom and Ewell
• Mims Davies – Conservative Member of Parliament for East Grinstead and Uckfield, and Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
• Melissa Keveren – Founder of ‘Girls Who Talk Politics’
• Councillor Nanda Manley-Browne – Labour Councillor in Lambeth, and Council Cabinet member

The current challenges

50:50 Parliament CEO Lyanne Nicholl opened the session with a stark warning – in 2025 the progress of women’s representation in politics is “vulnerable.”

“We really need to be paying attention.”

50:50 Parliament predict that under current projections female representation in politics is “more likely to go backwards than forwards” in the coming years, and that the current 41 per cent of female MPs could drop to 26 per cent at the next election if nothing is done to combat this.

This means that we are in “a critical time in the fight for equal representation.”

This is where Ask Her To Stand Day comes in – encouraging women of all parties and all walks of life to put themselves forward and run for political office, shoring up female representation in politics for decades to come.

Labour MP Stella Creasy warned that since she was first elected to Parliament in 2010: “This place is going backwards in its capacity to enable a broader range of lived experiences to be here and to be represented and women, particularly women of colour and women with children, are going to be the casualty of it unless we refuse to take it.”

Barriers to women in politics

When asked about what barriers the panellists had faced to putting themselves forward for election, Lib Dem MP Helen Maguire said: “I never saw myself being here.”

The challenges of balancing motherhood and family commitments with a political role stood out as a common experience across the three female MPs.

Creasy described Parliament as a “hostile environment” for mothers, which has meant that “mothers are absent from this place.”

Conservative MP Mims Davies took a different perspective on balancing Parliament and motherhood. While she acknowledged that having “small children” had been a barrier to her entering politics, she reassured the audience that “it is doable” to be a female MP with young children.

Davies prasied the “flexibility” available for MPs: “You will have to make it work for you, your constituents and your priorities.”

Why having more women in politics is so important

When addressing the importance of female representation in politics, Lyanne Nicholl said: “Equality is not a nice to have, it is essential if we going to meet the challenges of our age, whether it be defence, AI, violence against women and girls, poverty, climate crisis, food security.”

‘Girls Who Talk Politics’ founder Keveren concurred with Nicholl: “Decision making is always better when there are diverse people and voices around the table.”

Keveren founded ‘Girls Who Talk Politics’ in 2020 to get more women involved in politics, motivated by the fact that women “didn’t feel comfortable sharing their political opinions.” The platform aims to facilitate “cross-party discussion.”

Lambeth councillor Nanda Manley-Browne highlighted the positive impacts that female politicians can have in their local communities.

She described her role as being a “conduit” between her local community and the council, and one in which she can help ensure that “services meet the diverse needs of everyone”, as the “closest point of democracy” to people’s everyday lives and needs.

Davies also praised the possibilities that being in the room in politics offers to women: “You can get things done.”

“You have a voice here.”

How you can Ask Her To Stand

As said by attendee Licia Heath, CEO of Women for Election Australia, for women: “Running is winning.”

“You will never feel ready but step forward anyway.”

So, if you know a woman that you think would be an excellent candidate, Ask Her to Stand today, and direct her to Sign Up To Stand on the 50:50 Parliament website.

From there, the 50:50 Parliament team will be ready to support you, whatever your background or political persuasion.

Featured image via 50:50 Parliament / Natasha Kaeda.

The Budget

The upcoming Budget cast a long shadow over yesterday’s session [19th November] of PMQs, as Tory leader Kemi Badenoch criticised the government’s inability to get on top of the widespread speculation about Rachel Reeves’ potential tax changes.

This is despite the fact that it the Budget has not actually happened yet, and Reeves’ plans will not be announced until next Wednesday [26th November].

It has been speculated that Reeves will break Labour’s manifesto pledges on tax, and seek to either increase taxes or freeze income tax thresholds. These measures would raise vital revenue for the government, but go against her golden fiscal rules, on which her economic credibility is built.

Badenoch criticised the government for making a “U-turn” over a rumoured increase in income tax: “This is the first Budget to unravel before it has even been delivered.”

Badenoch also said: “Inflation has nearly doubled since Labour came into office”

“That is making life miserable for all of those people out there.”

Starmer hit back at the Conservatives’ economic record when in office: “What we [Labour] will not do is inflict austerity on the country.”

He also hit at short-lived Tory Prime Minister Liz Truss’ disastrous mini-budget: “What we will not do is inflict a borrowing spree, like Liz Truss did, which also inflicted huge damage.”

Starmer highlighted Badenoch’s commitment to Truss’ economic regime during her time as a Treasury Minister in her ill-fated government: “She was a Treasury Minister during the worst decline in living standards on record.”

“She and the Conservatives have no credibility on the economy.”

Starmer affirmed Labour’s commitment to Chancellor Reeves’ fiscal rules, labelling them as “iron-clad.”

Later in the session, Starmer affirmed that there would be no return to austerity under Labour: “The austerity that the Conservatives imposed on the country destroyed our public services, and we are still paying the price.”

The oil and gas industry

Badenoch also raised the difficult situation currently faced by American oil and gas corporation Exxonmobil, which is set to close a chemicals plant in Fife, Scotland, putting over 400 jobs at risk of loss.

Badenoch said: “Last week, I had a roundtable with energy companies, and what they had to say about this Prime Minister and his Energy Secretary is unprintable.”

“Our oil and gas industry is dying.”

In response, Starmer pointed out that the Exxonmobil site in Fife was “currently losing £1 million a week.”

“We have been meeting the company for more than six months and explored every possible reasonable avenue.”

International Men’s Day

The issue of International Men’s Day, which was celebrated yesterday, was raised by Labour MP Luke Charters: “Will the Prime Minister, as a dad himself, agree that strength as a man means being open about our emotions, and that we should never face challenges on our own?”

This allowed Starmer to highlight the publication of the government’s first ever men’s health strategy for England, which Starmer said aims to: “Tackle challenges that disproportionately affect men, including certain cancers and suicide.”

Lee Anderson’s intervention

Reform MP Lee Anderson accused the government of peddling “dog-whistle politics.”

“Our Reform-led councils have already identified savings of more than £330 million in the first six months.”

“will he guarantee that all the cancelled elections from this year and the proposed local elections for next year will go ahead in May 2026? Go on—be a man.”

Starmer hit back Anderson: “I did not realise the hon. Gentleman was quite so good at stand-up comedy.”

He also criticised Reform leader Nigel Farage for failing to condemning the racist comments of fellow Reform MP Sarah Pochin, or a Reform UK councillor that labelled children in care as “evil.”

Final thoughts

The fact that the issue of the Budget and UK economy went unresolved in the session is symptomatic of its unresolved nature – only Reeves will be able to fully settle the issue when she makes her full budget announcements next week.

Until then, it’s likely speculation about Labour’s economic plans will continue to grow.

Featured image via House of Commons / Flickr.

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.

On Labour’s side it was Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy filling in, while for the Tories it was the somewhat obscure Shadow Secretary of State for Defence James Cartlidge.

Standing at the dispatch box, Lammy made history as the first ever black person to answer Prime Minister’s questions on behalf of the government.

Asylum controversies

Cartlidge chose to focus all six of his questions on asylum. He began by bringing attention to the Epping hotel controversy and recent botched release of Hadush Kebatu.

Kebatu was a migrant from Ethiopia and arrived in the UK on a small boat in June of this year. Following his arrival, Kebatu was accommodated in the Bell Hotel in Epping.

In July, Kebatu was arrested and charged with the sexual assault of a teenage girl.

His arrest sparked anti-immigration protests outside the Epping hotel, and a court case in which the council attempted to block the use of the hotel to house asylum seekers.

In September Kebatu was sentenced to 12 months in prison. On the 24th October he was mistakenly released, sparking a police manhunt.

He has since been re-arrested and deported to Ethiopia.

Cartlidge opened his questions today by asking if Lammy had apologised to the family of the girl assaulated by Kebatu.

In response, Justice Secretary Lammy said that he had already “said sorry for the anxiety caused while Kebatu was at large” in a statement on the matter.

Cartlidge continued to push on the same theme throughout PMQs, pressing Lammy to directly state that “no other asylum-seeking offender has been accidentally let out of prison.”

Despite Cartlidge’s best efforts to press Lammy, the Justice Secretary refused to directly answer the question. Instead, Lammy repeatedly slammed the Tory record on prisons:

“We inherited a complicated system that the Conservatives set up that was letting people out on the sly. That is part of the problem, and we are trying to fix it.”

“Under the Conservatives’ watch, prisons were in a mess. Suicides went up, prison officers were cut, and 20,000 neighbourhood police officers were lost.”

Cartlidge’s miscalculation

Cartlidge was not impressed with Lammy’s response to his questioning – so much so that he asked it five times consecutively – using up five of the six questions allocated to the opposition leader during PMQs.

This then caused confusion, as Cartlidge attempted to rise yet again, seemingly unaware that he had used up all six of his questions.

This attempt to ask a further question was blocked by Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who moved on to questions from other MPs.

Attempting to correct his earlier error, Cartlidge called a point of order at the end of the session to ask whether Lammy was aware of a police manhunt reported in The Telegraph that had been launched “for a second asylum seeker who was mistakenly freed from prison.”

The story was then broken shortly after Cartlidge ended his questions – this final point of order was the big reveal that Cartlidge had been attempting to build up to over the course of his questioning. If only he had been able to get his numbers right.

It was revealed by The Telegraph that Algerian national Ibrahim Kaddour-Cherif was mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth last Wednesday [29th October]. It it understood that Kaddour-Cherif is not an asylum seeker, but had overstayed a visitor visa.

It also came out later in the day that another prisoner, British national Billy Smith, had also been mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth on Monday [3rd November].

Police are still hunting for the two prisoners.

As Lammy is Justice Secretary, this is his area of responsibility, and should be his area of expertise – which again explains why Cartlidge put so much emphasis on it through his questioning.

Lammy’s poppy

It was not just Cartlidge that made unfortunate errors in PMQs – Lammy himself got off to a somewhat unfortunate start, forgetting to wear a remembrance poppy. This was despite the fact his opening remarks were in tribute to Remembrance Sunday.

It was up to Lammy’s fellow cabinet minister Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to secure a poppy and correct this mistake.

Around halfway through the session he paid tribute to her for this: “I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Member for Houghton and Sunderland South (Bridget Phillipson) for ensuring that despite wearing a new suit, I have managed to put my poppy on.”

Not a great look for Lammy when trying to represent the government.

Maybe what this PMQs ultimately shows is that it’s time for Keir and Kemi to return to the dispatch box.

Featured image via House of Commons / Flickr.

A landmark reform, the Act formed a crucial part of Labour’s 2024 Plan for Change manifesto. The Act promises to “rebalance the relationship between England’s 2.3 million landlords and 11 million tenants.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “For too long, millions of renters have lived at the mercy of rogue landlords or insecure contracts, with their futures hanging in the balance. We’re putting an end to that.”

What does this Act mean for renters?

Firstly it’s important to note that this Act applies only to England, as housing is a devolved matter. This means that housing comes under the control of regional assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, who are free to set their own laws.

Central to the Act is its provision to abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, under which private landlords have been able to remove tenants even if they have done nothing wrong.

The government said that these ‘no fault’ evictions have in the past “pushed thousands into homelessness.”

“This seismic shift will empower tenants to challenge poor conditions and unreasonable rent increases without fear of retaliatory eviction.”

According to homelessness charity Shelter, 11,400 households in England were evicted by bailiffs under Section 21 no-fault evictions between July 2024 and June 2025.

The Act also introduces a new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman, under which renters will be able to take up complaints about landlords, and a Private Rented Sector Database which will help landlords better understand their obligations.

The Act will also, according to Housing Secretary Steve Reed, “tackle discrimination head-on” by banning landlords from refusing tenants that receive benefits or that have children.

Tenancies will change under the new legislation – rather than be fixed-term, all tenancies in England will default to being monthly rolling contracts.

Steve Reed said: “Our historic Act marks the biggest leap forward in renters’ rights in a generation. We are finally ending the injustice overseen by previous governments that has left millions living in fear of losing their homes.”

“This is an historic moment for renters across the country and we’re proud to deliver it.”

What does this mean for landlords?

Landlords will still be able to evict tenants under certain circumstances such as antisocial behaviour, damage to the property, or if they fall three or more months behind on rent.

The ability of landlords to increase rent will be restricted to “the market rate”, and “bidding wars” on properties will be ended, as new tenants can no longer be asked to pay more than the advertised rental price. They will also be banned from asking for more than one month’s rent upfront from tenants.

Landlords will also not be able to unreasonably refuse a tenant’s request for a pet to be kept in the property – good news for England’s furry friends.

Awaab’s Law

The Renters’ Rights Act is not the only change to housing that has come in recent days – just yesterday [27th October], Awaab’s Law came into effect in England.

Under this legislation, passed in July 2023 under the previous Conservative government, social landlords in England will be required to fix damp and mould issues in their properties within set timelines.

Named after Awaab Ishak, who died died at age two in 2020 from a respiratory condition due to exposure to mould in his social housing in Rochdale, the new regulations mean that social landlords must inspect reports of damp and mould within 10 working days, and make properties safe from these within five working days after this.

Landlords will also have to offer alternative accommodation to tenants if they are unable to make their properties safe within the alloted timeframe.

As of yet, Awaab’s Law is only enforced for social landlords, but under the Renters’ Rights Act the government plans to bring it into into force in the private sector as well.

What have reactions been from landlords and campaigners?

The reforms have been welcomed by many, particularly those that have campaigned on the issue.

Tom Darling, Director of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said that the Act is: “Fantastic news for England’s 12 million renters.”

Sean Palmer, Executive Director of homelessness charity St Mungo’s said that the law was: “A watershed moment for tenants across the country, and welcome news for everyone committed to ending UK homelessness”

Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, which represents landlords, described the changes as “an important milestone for the private rented sector.”

He however asked for further clarity from the government about the implementation of the Act: “The sector needs certainty about the way forward.” 

“It is imperative that the new systems work for both tenants and responsible landlords.”

This was backed by Chief Executive of Generation Rent, Ben Twomey, who said: “This new law is a vital step towards re-balancing power between renters and landlords and should be celebrated.”

“The Government must now give clarity to renters and landlords by announcing an implementation date quickly, bringing in renters’ new rights as soon as possible.”

Ministers are set to outline the roll out of reforms in the coming weeks and months.

Featured image via HM Government.

In her victory speech Powell urged the party to be “bolder” and “step up” to address the struggles faced by both the government and the country.

Just this week, Labour suffered a historic defeat in the Caerphilly by-election to Plaid Cymru.

Powell said that Labour are “in the fight of our lives” against Reform UK: “division and hate are on the rise, discontent and disillusionment widespread.”

“We as the Labour Party…have to step forward and take this on.”

Powell also said: “We won’t win by trying to out-reform Reform, but by building a broad progressive consensus”

“Progressive mainstream politics really can change people’s lives for the better.”

Powell’s victory has been widely seen as a blow for Starmer, with his Cabinet colleague and current Education Secretary Phillipson Starmer’s preferred candidate. Powell paid tribute to Phillipson in her victory speech, as well as to former Deputy Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.

In her speech Powell signalled her intention to support Starmer and his government, addressing the Labour leader directly: “Keir, I am here to help you in that fight.”

The result was announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood at 10am on Saturday [25th October] morning, with Powell taking 87,407 votes (54.3 per cent) to Phillipson’s 73,536 (45.7 per cent) on a 16.6 per cent turnout.

The sizeable support for Phillipson does show that there is not complete contempt for Starmer and his government among Labour members.

Under the rules of the contest, members of both the Labour Party and affiliated supporters were able to vote, meaning there were over 970,000 eligible voters in total. As many of these are members of affiliated trade unions, their lower engagement with the contest is somewhat unsurprising.

The contest was triggered in early September by the resignation of Angela Rayner after it was found that she failed to pay enough tax on a new property she bought in Hove.

Rayner resigned from her positions as both Deputy Labour Leader and Deputy Prime Minister. Powell will not take Rayner’s previous role as Deputy Prime Minister however – this was already given to David Lammy last month. Instead, Powell’s role as Deputy Leader will be entirely party-based and non-governmental.

Powell was born in Manchester and studied Chemistry at Oxford and King’s College London before going on to work for the Labour Party and the quango NESTA. She managed Ed Miliband’s successful leadership campaign in 2010.

Powell was elected the Labour MP for Manchester Central in 2012, and held various Shadow Cabinet positions following Starmer’s election as Labour leader in 2020, including Shadow Secretary for Housing and Shadow Leader of the House of Commons.

Following Labour’s landslide in July last year, Powell was appointed Leader of the House of Commons, a position she held until Starmer sacked her from Cabinet in his September reshuffle, replacing Powell with Labour veteran Alan Campbell.

A fellow Northerner, Powell’s Deputy Leadership campaign was closely linked to former Labour MP and current Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.

Powell comes from the soft left of the party, as does Burnham, and was endorsed by him and Ed Miliband among others as part of her successful deputy leadership bid.

Her closeness with Burnham, in contrast to Phillipson’s proximity to Starmer as a Cabinet minister led some to assert that the deputy leadership contest was a sort of proxy war between Starmer and Burnham. This was criticised as misogynistic by Powell, underplaying the strength and independence of the female candidates.

Speaking on the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast, Powell said: “You’ve got two strong women standing in an open and transparent contest”

“And instead of talking about the two strong women, everybody’s talking about this being a sort of proxy for war between two men which, quite honestly, I find kind of sexist, but it’s also completely wrong.”

With Labour trailing Reform in the polls and the November budget looming, only time will tell if Powell can really rally the party behind her and Starmer.

Featured image via HM Government.

The session today [15th October] began with tributes being paid to Sir David Amess, a Conservative MP who was tragically murdered four years ago while hosting a constituency surgery in Essex.

Starmer then opened PMQs in an unexpected fashion, making a statement to the House regarding China spy case in which he affirmed that the government was “disappointed” at the collapse of the case, and that they will publish the relevant witness statements “in full.”

He stated that these witness statements should be expected as soon as they have passed the necessary security checks.

Starmer also said that no government ministers or special advisers have at any time had any involvement in the case.

The case, which saw British citizens Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry accused of spying for the Chinese government, collapsed last month after the Crown Prosecution Service concluded it could not obtain sufficient evidence from the government to prove that China poses a national security threat to the UK.

On the controversial case, Badenoch and Starmer remained at loggerheads throughout PMQs, each blaming the other party’s government for the mess.

Badenoch used all of her six allocated questions in today’s PMQs to take aim at the Labour government’s handling of the case.

According to Badenoch, the collapse of the case was the fault of the current Labour government, as they had failed to see the case through while in office.

Badenoch said: “This all stinks of a cover-up.”

In contrast, Starmer took the complete opposite tack, laying blame on the previous Tory government for failing to provide sufficient evidence to back up the case during their time in office.

It was under the previous Conservative administration that the case began, with the initial arrest of Cash and Berry in 2023.

The pair were then charged with espionage offences under the Official Secrets Act in April 2024, just over two months before Starmer was given the keys to Number 10.

Laying responsibility at the feet of the Tories, Starmer threw back quotes made by a number of Tory ministers during the last government at Badenoch.

This included a quote by Badenoch, made when she was Business Secretary in September 2023. Badenoch had said: “We should certaintly not be describing China as a foe.”

Hearing her own words used against her, Badenoch looked visibly uncomfortable.

Starmer also accused Badenoch of: “Playing politics with national security.”

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper, standing in for Ed Davey, also laid into the Prime Minister for the collapse of the China spy case – this time focusing on its implications for the safety of Hong Kongers living in the UK.

She called on Starmer to continue support of Hong Kongers, and to not trade away their security in exchange for a better relationship with Beijing. In response, Starmer affirmed his committment to supporting Hong Kongers and their security.

The questions today ended, as they had started, in a rather unusual manner – with former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly calling for a Point of Order to correct an earlier quote attributed to him by the Prime Minister.

Starmer had claimed that Cleverly said in a speech at Mansion House in 2023 that describing China as a threat was: “Impossible, impractical and most importantly unwise.”

Cleverly instead said that this quote was referring to describing China as “one word”, which he said would be impossible, impractical and unwise, rather than whether or not China could be described as a threat.

The biggest takeaway from this week’s PMQs is that the China spy case remains an area of contention – and most importantly, as of yet unresolved.

Featured image via House of Commons / Flickr.

The fund will help secure the longevity of civic museums in regions across the country, helping to protect jobs and opening hours, and ensure that their vital role in celebrating local heritage can be maintained.

Organisations across the country are set to receive a share of the funds, including London’s Fulham Palace, the Birmingham Museums Trust and Manchester’s People’s History Museum.

Smaller regional organisations will also receive funding as part of the package, including the Lake District’s Lakeland Arts and The Cromwell Museum in Cambridgeshire.

The Museum Renewal Fund forms part of the government’s wider £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund, which aims to boost growth within the cultural sectors as part of the government’s wider efforts to drive growth within the UK economy through their Plan for Change.

According to government estimates, around 660,000 people work in the cultural sectors across the country, while the creative industries as a whole contribute £124 billion to the UK economy.

Museums Minister, Baroness Twycross said: “Museums offer a place where people from all backgrounds can learn, be inspired and delve into our rich history, helping to understand the stories that led us to where we are today.” 

“The Museum Renewal Fund is contributing to the delivery of our Plan for Change. It ensures much-loved civic museums can remain open and continue to provide opportunities for future generations to learn about our shared heritage and how their local community has played its part in our national story.” 

One of the key beneficiaries from the funds, the Birmingham Museums Trust, is set to receive over £994,000, which will help improve access to the museum’s collections. This includes the Staffordshire Hoard – the world’s largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork.

The funds have been welcomed by many within the cultural sector.

Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair of Arts Council England said: “Travelling through cities, towns, and villages across the UK, I have seen that museums and art galleries are often a proud focal point in communities, telling important stories about history, people and place. This funding will provide a crucial lifeline for local museums in stabilising their financial situation and building towards a sustainable future.”

Featured image via HM Government.

The move is part of the government’s efforts to tackle illegal small boat crossings, aiming to combat the “pull factors” that are attracting large number of migrants to the UK via irregular routes.

Over the last seven days [to 2nd October] over 2,000 migrants have arrived in the UK on small boats.

According to Prime Minister Keir Starmer: “The current system is not fit for purpose.”

The planned changes will make the route to settlement for asylum seekers longer, scrapping the current system under which migrants can apply for indefinite leave to remain (permanent residence) after five years.

Keir Starmer said that under the new asylum system: “Settlement must be earned by contributing to our country, not by paying a people smuggler to cross the channel in a boat.”

“There will be no golden ticket to settling in the UK, people will have to earn it.”

The Prime Minister also stressed the UK’s continued commitment to “welcoming genuine refugees fleeing persecution” as part of the UK’s “tolerant and fair approach to migration.”

In her speech to the Labour party conference on Monday [29th September] in Liverpool, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the government’s plan to introduce a contribution-based settlement model for migrants.

The plan will require migrants to be lawfully resident in the UK for 10 years before being eligible to remain indefinitely, doubling the current 5 year requirement. People will be able to earn a reduction in this if they meet earnings or integration requirements. Those that do not comply with regulations will face a longer wait for permanent residence to be granted or face their claim being refused.

Proposed conditions include learning English to a high level, being in work, not taking benefits payments and giving back to your community, such as through local volunteering.

Like the Prime Minister, Mahmood emphasised that the proposed changes would create a “fair migration system” befitting an “open, tolerant, generous country.”

The Prime Minister has been in Copenhagen today attending the European Political Community Summit, in which he will co-chair a meeting with other senior European leaders focused on tackling illegal migration across the continent.

Alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Starmer will announce a £3 million partnership aimed at encouraging migrants from Western Balkan countries to remain in the region.

The partnership with Denmark is not the only cross-European effort to tackle migration that Britain is involved with. The UK is contributing up to £5.75 million to Italy’s Rome Process, which aims to reduce the number of migrant crossings to Europe from Africa.

The UK is also set to work in collaboration with German law enforcement to disrupt the efforts of small boats smugglers.

Combatting rising migration has been a key area of focus for the Labour government, particularly in the wake of Reform UK’s recent surges in the polls.

Starmer’s poll ratings remain low – according to the latest YouGov voting intention figures, just 21 per cent of UK voters intend to vote Labour. Reform UK is the most popular party among the Brits surveyed, attracting support from 29 per cent of those surveyed.

Last week Reform UK announced that it would abolish indefinite leave to remain entirely, which would force all migrants, including those that have been settled in the UK for decades, to reapply for new visas subject to tougher regulations.

These proposals have attracted harsh criticism, including from Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has branded them as “racist.”

Full details of government’s changes to the UK migration system are set to be released in the Asylum Policy Statement in the coming months.

Featured image via Number 10 / Flickr.