Starmer’s First Prime Minister’s Questions Strikes Cordial Tone

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, London on July 24, 2024. House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Wire

Sir Keir Starmer attended the House of Commons for his first “Prime Minister’s Questions” session on Wednesday.

After four years of posing the questions as Leader of the Opposition, a role which saw him quiz Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir became the first Labour prime minister to face the weekly grilling since Gordon Brown.

Flanked by Deputy Leader Angela Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, he opened his remarks by expressing his shock at the attack of a soldier in Kent and sent his best wishes to his family. He also sent his best wishes to Team GB as they prepared to get underway in the Olympic Games in Paris.

Rishi Sunak, in his first PMQs as Leader of the Opposition, struck a conciliatory tone echoing the prime minister’s support for Team GB, although joking that they perhaps would not want to take “advice on how to win” from him.

The former prime minister settled into his new role by focusing his questions entirely on foreign policy, an area where he and Sir Keir are broadly in agreement.

Mr. Sunak’s first few questions focussed on Ukraine, asking the prime minister if would continue the UK’s support for the country in its war with Russia, whether Sir Keir had raised the matter of Germany providing long-range missiles to Kyiv, and if he agreed that “fatuous Russian claims on Ukrainian territory must not act as a block to Ukraine joining the NATO defensive alliance.”

In response to all of Mr. Sunak’s questions, Sir Keir thanked the previous resident of No. 10 and agreed that the UK must continue its support for Ukraine in the field and in joining NATO.

Conservative leader Rishi Sunak speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, London on July 24, 2024. House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA

Grumbling from the opposition benches only began after Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey opened his questions asking Sir Keir if the government would review the situation surrounding social care.

The prime minister said in response: “I’m sorry to have to report to the House it’s not the only crisis that we’ve inherited. There’s a crisis and a failure absolutely everywhere after 14 years of failure that this Government of service will begin the hard yards of fixing, including on social care.”

‘Honeymoon Already Over?’

The most aggressive line of questioning came from SNP’s Pete Wishart, who accused the prime minister’s “honeymoon” of “already being over” after he suspended seven Labour MPs for rebelling in a vote over abolishing the cap on child benefit.

In response, Sir Kier pointed out the huge losses the SNP experienced at the last election, saying the party wasn’t in a position to give “lectures on what the people of Scotland are thinking.”

He added: “Perhaps the SNP needs to account for the 30,000 extra children in poverty in Scotland.”

Other questions from Labour’s backbenches focussed on issues dear to the party’s left wing, but stopped short of being actively hostile to their leader.

Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, who has expressed concerns about the child benefit cap but toed the party line last night, asked about the government’s view on giving puberty blockers to teenagers who identify as trans.

Sir Keir responded that he would proceed sensitively, and would not be creating ideological dividing lines.

Another Labour MP, Mohammad Yasin, raised the issue of a ceasefire in Gaza, to which the prime minister responded that he and Foreign Secretary David Lammy had both stated that they want the violence in the Palestinian enclave to end immediately.

A question from Green Party Co-Leader Adrian Ramsay asking how the prime minister would “show leadership” on the UK’s “nature recovery” drew a barbed retort from Sir Keir who asked the MP for Waveney Valley when he would “show leadership” as he “finds it extraordinary that elected to this House as a Green politician, he’s opposing vital clean energy infrastructure in his own constituency.”

Mr. Ramsay recently objected to a 114-mile string of electricity pylons across East Anglia.

The Reform UK MP invited to speak at Sir Keir’s maiden PMQs was Rupert Lowe who asked the prime minister if he agreed that “out of control” legal and illegal immigration have had “brutal consequences” for the UK.

Sir Keir once again took the chance to denigrate the previous administrations record replying: “I’m not sure I agree with his numbers. But look, I do think that it’s serious that the previous government lost control of our borders.”

PMQs will not take place again until September as the House rises for the summer recess on July 31.