CP
Westminster saw one of the most charged Prime Minister’s Questions sessions in months this morning, as Kemi Badenoch and senior Conservatives accused Keir Starmer of being “out of ideas” and urged him to abolish stamp duty rather than raise taxes ahead of next month’s Budget.
This morning’s Prime Minister’s Questions unfolded amid torrential Westminster rain — and a storm of political attacks over tax, migration, and the state of the economy.
Conservative Party Leader, Kemi Badenoch accused Sir Keir Starmer of being “out of ideas” and demanded that he abolish stamp duty rather than “reach again for the tax lever” in next month’s Budget.
“Labour has no plan for growth except higher taxes,” Badenoch said, claiming the Government’s “instinct is to tax work, tax saving, and tax homes.” She urged the Prime Minister to follow the Tory proposal to scrap stamp duty altogether, arguing that doing so would help young people onto the property ladder and “keep the economy moving.”
The attack was reinforced by Gareth Davies, the shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, who said Starmer was “refusing to back the next generation” and “out of ideas before his first year is up.”
Sir Keir, however, batted away the calls, accusing the Conservatives of “a decade and a half of economic failure” and insisting that “austerity, Brexit, and the Truss mini-Budget did more to damage growth than any tax measure this Government has introduced.”
He pointed to upgraded economic growth figures and record performance in the UK stock market as evidence that “Labour’s plan is working”, though he declined to repeat Labour’s 2024 election pledge not to raise income tax, National Insurance, or VAT.
Pressed several times to confirm those promises, Starmer said only that “no Prime Minister or Chancellor ever sets out plans ahead of a Budget,” before reiterating that Rachel Reeves’s statement on 26 November would “set out a long-term plan for stability and growth.”
That refusal triggered fierce exchanges across the chamber. Badenoch noted that just four months ago, in July, Starmer had explicitly ruled out any rises to those taxes. “What’s changed?” she asked. “All we hear from this Prime Minister is tax, tax, tax — because he’s too weak to control spending.”
Starmer retorted that the Conservatives had “crashed the economy, sent inflation to 11 per cent, and put mortgage rates through the roof,” adding that “the British people will not take lectures from the architects of their own economic chaos.”
He also rejected Badenoch’s claim that Labour’s welfare plans would “cripple businesses,” citing Treasury analysis that Britain’s growth outlook had improved since Labour’s first Budget.
Migration row overshadows PMQs
The Commons session was preceded by fresh controversy over the Government’s handling of migration and deportations.
Earlier this week it emerged that Hadush Kebatu, a 41-year-old Ethiopian man convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl, had been mistakenly released from prison rather than transferred to an immigration removal centre. The error triggered a two-day manhunt before Kebatu was recaptured in a north London park and subsequently deported.
Home Office officials later confirmed that Kebatu had been paid £500 to comply with his deportation — a decision made, they said, to avoid a lengthier and more expensive detention process that could have delayed his removal flight.
The revelation came on the heels of another embarrassment for the Home Office: a Channel migrant previously deported to France under the Government’s “one in, one out” scheme had returned to Britain by small boat after skipping a migrant shelter in Paris.
These two cases, both widely covered in the press, intensified pressure on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who told MPs that the system had “failed operationally but not in intent,” insisting the department had acted swiftly to ensure deportation in Kebatu’s case.
Although neither Badenoch nor Starmer dwelled on the incidents at PMQs, they loomed heavily over the chamber, symbolising the continuing struggle to balance enforcement with human rights obligations.
Foreign policy and domestic flashpoints
Starmer also faced questions about Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, saying he was “deeply concerned” and calling on all parties to uphold President Trump’s peace plan. He confirmed that the UK remained in contact with Washington and regional allies, stressing that “the immediate priority is getting aid in at the speed and volume needed.”
Elsewhere, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey pressed the Prime Minister over alleged Russian interference in British politics, prompting Starmer to denounce Reform UK as “Putin-friendly” and unfit for NATO cooperation. He claimed that the party’s rise posed “a serious threat to Western unity” and said “the Coalition of the Willing would collapse under Reform.”
Labour MP Janet Daby drew attention to a surge in knife crime in her Lewisham constituency following two recent killings. Wearing black in mourning, she urged the Government to do more to protect communities. Starmer praised her advocacy and pointed to Labour’s bans on “zombie knives” and tougher controls on online sales, measures he said Conservatives had opposed.
Taxes, trust, and the road to the Budget
The clash over taxes set the tone for what promises to be a tense four weeks before the Budget. Labour insists its approach will be “balanced and responsible,” while the Conservatives accuse Starmer of preparing stealth rises that will “hit workers, homeowners, and savers alike.”
Badenoch framed the issue starkly: “When you work, he taxes you more. When you save, he taxes you more. When you buy a home, he taxes you more.”
Starmer countered that Britain was “no longer a laughing stock” under Labour, pointing to reduced NHS waiting lists, higher wages, and falling mortgage rates. “We’re fixing their mess,” he said, “and we’ll do it without the fantasy economics of the last government.”
As MPs filed out under a downpour, neither side had given an inch. But with speculation mounting over possible freezes to personal tax allowances and whispers of targeted wealth levies, today’s PMQs made one thing clear: the battle lines for the November Budget — and the next election — have been firmly drawn.
This article (Tories Clash with Starmer Over Tax Rises, Stamp Duty and Deportation Failures in Fiery PMQs) was created and published by Conservative Post and is republished here under “Fair Use” with attribution to the author CP
Featured image: Flickr
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