Starmer says crisis in public finances 'more severe than we first thought' in first PMQs since entering No10
24 July 2024, 14:33 | Updated: 24 July 2024, 14:46
Keir Starmer has warned that the crisis in British public finances is "more severe than we first thought".
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir said that the Conservatives had left "a crisis and a failure everywhere" after 14 years in power.
The Prime Minister was responding to a question from Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey family asking about carers having to repay money because they had gone over the threshold for the carers’ allowance.
Sir Keir replied that "we have a more severe crisis than we thought as we go through the books of the last 14 years."
After jeers from the Conservative benches, Sir Keir said: "I know they don’t like it. There was a reason the electorate rejected them so profoundly."
The PM added that "there is a crisis and a failure absolutely everywhere after 14 years of failure".
Read more: Forget politics, think families: It's time to scrap two-child limit
It comes after seven Labour MPs were stripped of the whip for backing an SNP motion to scrap the two-child benefit cap on Tuesday evening.
Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Apsana Begum, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Zarah Sultana and Imran Hussain were suspended over Tuesday night's Commons rebellion.
At PMQs, SNP MP Pete Wishart claimed that Sir Keir's "honeymoon" period was over before it had begun after the mini-rebellion.
The MP for Perth and Kinross-shire said: "The Prime Minister has achieved something that we didn't think would be possible in such a short period of time.
Keir Starmer suspends seven MPs over child benefit vote
"In less than three weeks, he has had a significant rebellion and he has suspended seven of his Members of Parliament, all for standing up for child poverty, this from a Labour Government.
"The headlines are awful for the Prime Minister this morning, poverty campaigners are furious with the Prime Minister - is his honeymoon over before it's even begun?"
Sir Keir replied that he would not be taking "lectures" from the SNP on what the people of Scotland wanted, after the party had returned from the General Election with a "handful" of members.
He added: "Perhaps the SNP needs to account for the 30,000 extra children in poverty in Scotland."
Ashworth on Labour MPs
Ms Sultana suggested she was the victim of a "macho virility test" and said she "slept well knowing that I took a stand against child poverty" after being handed the six-month suspension.
Also in PMQs, former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made a self-deprecating joke about the landslide defeat to which he led the Conservatives.
The former prime minister told the Commons: "I also join with the Prime Minister in his warm words about our Olympic athletes. I've no doubt that after years of training, focus and dedication they'll bring back many gold medals.
"Although to be honest, I'm probably not the first person they want to hear advice from on how to win."
Nigel Farage, the Reform leader who was elected to Parliament for the first time this year, gave his first PMQs a negative review.
"There is no opposition in the chamber at all," he said. "The Tories agree with Labour on virtually everything."
