Labour MPs cheer at PM's five-word comeback to savage Tory 'scorecard' insult at PMQs
Labour MPs roared and cheered as Keir Starmer confidently slapped down Kemi Badenoch after she tried to insult him with a "scorecard" of his first year in government.
The Prime Minister reeled off a list of Labour achievements including their expansion of free school meals, record investment in affordable housebuilding and the achievement of three international trade deals, with the US, EU and India. And he added: "We're only just getting started."
Tory leader Ms Badenoch criticised the economy under Labour, after inflation crawled up again today - despite it being much lower than the levels it had hit under the former Conservative government. Mr Starmer refused to answer any of her specific questions on tax, such as one on pension contributions, saying he wouldn't write a Budget ahead of an official announcement.
The Conservative leader referenced this newspaper as she responded: "He says he's not going to write the Budget but his Chancellor is on the front of the Daily Mirror talking about what she's going to do on taxes. So why can't he do the same in the chamber?"
On Monday, Rachel Reeves told the Mirror ordinary workers won't be clobbered by higher taxes - and she has no plans for another mega tax-raising Budget.
Ms Badenoch continued: "The shadow of the last budget is hanging over the entire country...It's the end of term so we don't we go through his end of term scorecard. The economy is contracting. Inflation is highest in the G7. Unemployment up every month of this government.
"Spending out of control. Borrowing costs, more expensive that Greece. And this is just the first year. The Labour Party should be ashamed of what it is doing to the country."
She told the PM that Labour MPs would have to spend the summer explaining "why they've been making such a mess" over the last year.
But Mr Starmer replied with a huge list of Labour's top achievements over the last year. As MPs behind him cheered, he said: "We're happily going to go to our constituents and we're going to tell them we promised two million extra NHS appointments, and we delivered four million extra appointments - I've now got to upgrade that it's four and a half million appointments. So we're going to tell our constituents that.
"Then we're going to tell them about the free school meals we're rolling out, free breakfast clubs, free childcare and school uniform costs. We'll tell them about that. And then when we've done that, we'll tell them about affordable houses, about the £39billion we're investing.
"When we're finished that, we'll tell them about the rail and road upgrades across the country, £120billion investment. And of course, the three trade deals. Mr Speaker, we're only just getting started."
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