Starmer labels Tories ‘coalition of blockers’ as he defends growth plan at PMQs
Starmer labels Tories ‘coalition of blockers’ as he defends growth plan at PMQs
Share:
Sir Keir Starmer has claimed the Conservatives are the “coalition of blockers” as he defended his Government’s growth proposals and employment law reforms. The Prime Minister highlighted opposition to airport expansion and a rail project from Tory frontbenchers, which prompted Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch to brand Labour “hypocrites” for raising their own objections in the past.
Sir Keir, who dubbed the Government the “coalition of builders”, was also urged by Mrs Badenoch to drop a series of measures contained in the Employment Rights Bill because they “fail his growth test”. After Mrs Badenoch told Sir Keir to “stop being a lawyer and start being a leader”, the Prime Minister replied: “We know she is not a lawyer, she is clearly not a leader, if she keeps on like this, she is going to be the next lettuce.”.
His remark was a nod to Liz Truss’s 49-day long premiership, which saw the Daily Star live-stream a lettuce to see if it would last longer than her tenure in No 10. The Bill raised at Prime Minister’s Questions includes measures to introduce day-one protections from unfair dismissals, make changes to sick pay and ensures guaranteed hours on zero-hours contracts.
The exchanges in the House of Commons came after Chancellor Rachel Reeves had outlined the Government’s growth agenda, which includes backing a third runway at Heathrow Airport. Mrs Badenoch said the Government has “embraced a series of Conservative policies” before urging Sir Keir to “drop” the Bill as it “clearly fails the Prime Minister’s growth test”, adding Whitehall analysis suggests it will cost businesses £5 billion a year.Sir Keir said the Government was “not taking lectures” from the Conservatives.
