Politics latest: Keir Starmer tells first PMQs Labour inherited 'crisis everywhere' (2024)

By Gurpreet Narwan, political correspondent

The "Leader of the Opposition, Rishi Sunak".

It will take a bit of getting used to but from the amused look on Labour MPs' faces, it's a phrase they will happily hear over and over again.

Rishi Sunak looks far more relaxed in his new role. Gone is the tense sternness we have grown accustomed to.

Instead, he made a self-deprecating joke about how Team GB should take no advice from him about winning. MPs clearly found it endearing.

The exchange that followed between the two was remarkably genteel.

Mr Sunak’s questions were focused on foreign policy, chiefly on Ukraine. He maintains that the Labour leader could rely on his full support in this area. It is a topic both leaders have consistently agreed on and it lifted the tone of the conversation in the Commons.

Much has been said about the peaceful transfer of power in the UK and, ultimately, the goodwill on both sides. Here was another example of it in action.

Next up is the SNP's Pete Wishart, who again brings up the issue of the two-child cap on benefits.

He says the new prime minister has "achieved something we didn't think would be possible in such a short period of time... a significant rebellion", and points to the suspension of seven Labour MPs "all for standing up against child poverty".

Mr Wishart asks Sir Keir if his "honeymoon" is already over.

The PM points to the huge losses the SNP experienced at the last election, saying "I really don't think lectures on what the people of Scotland are thinking."

SNP's Stephen Flynn rises next, thanking the prime minister for "ending Tory rule".

"Last night, Labour MPs from Scotland were instructed to retain the two-child [benefit] cap, which forces children into poverty. So, prime minister, what changed?" he asks.

Sir Keir Starmer says his government have already taken steps to address child poverty, including breakfast clubs and abolishing no fault evictions.

This comes after the Labour leader suspended seven of his own MPs from the parliamentary party after they voted against the government to call for the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap.

He ends his answer with a stab at Mr Flynn's party.

"I would just say this before he lectures everyone else - he should explain why, since the SNP came to power, there are 30,000 more children in poverty in Scotland."

What is the two-child benefit cap?

In short, the measure prevents parents from claiming Universal Credit or a child tax credit for a third child, with a few exceptions.

The cap was introduced by then chancellor George Osborne as part of a raft of changes to the benefits system in 2015, but came into effect in April 2017.

The amount a family is given to help with raising a child depends on their income, the size of their family, and their childcare costs.

But the cap has been blamed for a rising level of child poverty in the UK.

Sir Keir had previously said the cap should be scrapped, but he U-turned last year due to the state of finances Labour were set to inherit if they won the election.

As the new third-biggest party in Westminster after the election, the Liberal Democrats get to ask the prime minister a question now.

Sir Ed Davey, the leader, begins by wishing Team GB good luck in the Olympics, before turning his attention to the "scandal" surrounding carers' allowance repayments.

He tells the story of a constituent who has been with a £4,000 bill from the DWP.

He asks Sir Keir Starmer if he will meet him to try to resolve the issue.

The PM says there is a "more severe crisis" than he initially thought, and his government will "review the challenges" it faces.

Mr Davey responds by pointing out social care is also facing problems and this is a "once in a century chance" to fix it.

He asks if the Sir Keir will set up a cross-party commission on the matter.

The prime minister says there is a "crisis" and it is not the only one his party has inherited, saying the government has found crisis and failure "everywhere".

"We will work across the House," he adds.

Rishi Sunak, in his new position on the opposition benches, stands to ask his first question at PMQs.

Sending his best wishes to Team GB, he admits that they may not want advice from him on "how to win", to sympathetic "awww" noises from colleagues.

He then turns to Ukraine and says he will offer support to Sir Keir Starmer, asking him to "continue to be responsive to Ukraine's new requests so they don't just stand still but continue to win out against Russian aggression".

The PM thanks Mr Sunak for the way he asks the question to "maintain unity" in the Commons, and assures him conversations are ongoing.

"I will continue to try to do that in the way he did which is to reach out across the House," he adds.

The Tory leader continues on the topic and asks if he had raised with Germany whether they will provide long range missiles to Ukraine, as the UK has done.

Sir Keir says he spoke to his German counterparts during the NATO summit and his message was to "urge all of our allies to provide further support... and that was well received".

Mr Sunak turns to possible NATO membership for Ukraine and how Russia trying to claim territory shouldn't act as a blocker.

The prime minister says he "wholeheartedly agrees" and it is for NATO members to decide who joins, not Russia.

The opposition leader next appeals to Sir Keir to look at tougher sanctions against Russia and again the PM agrees, revealing the chancellor is already having those discussions.

Mr Sunak then raises whether talks with Saudi Arabia on supplying fighter jets will continue, to which the PM says he wants to "build on that progress" - though never says if that would be with that particular country.

Finally, Mr Sunak says that he knows "first hand" about the "essential" need to sometimes act as PM to protect the country without getting approval from MPs, and offers the opposition's support if he ever needs to do so.

And Sir Keir agrees again, saying "security is the first duty of any government".

For the first time, Sir Keir Starmer stands at PMQs as the leader of the country.

He begins his address by thanking the Speaker, and swiftly offering his thoughts to the army officer injured in Kent this morning.

He also wishes Team GB well in the Paris Olympics, which starts on Friday.

Sir Keir concludes his opening remarks with the standard: "This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others", adding they were focused on "discussing how this government will bring about the change the country has decisively voted for".

He says: "In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings today."

The prime minister has left Downing Street to make his way to parliament for his first PMQs since taking office.

By Gurpreet Narwan, political correspondent

Sir Keir Starmer will take the stand at his first ever prime minister’s questions this afternoon, and the firing squad will be pointing from all directions.

Rishi Sunak and his much-diminished rank of Tory MPs won’t shy away from making a few barbs. With more than 400 Labour MPs sitting behind him, however, Starmer should be able to count on enough cheers and applause to rally him on.

However, there is already disquiet within his own ranks just a fortnight after securing an historic landslide victory for the Labour Party. Yesterday, the party suspended seven left-wing MPs, including John McDonnell, after they defied the whip to support an amendment to scrap the two-child benefit limit. Another 42 Labour MPs abstained.

It was a robust response, with the new government keen to impose backbench discipline. However, it is also a warning sign of some of the problems that lie ahead for Starmer. Seven is a manageable number in the context of Labour’s majority but the next rebellion could be bigger.

This is the backdrop of Starmer’s first PMQs and it will no doubt dominate the agenda. If given the opportunity the SNP, who tabled the amendment, will try to stick the knife in as might Labour’s own MPs, including Nadia Whittome, who is down to ask a question. She described Starmer’s response to the rebels as “appalling.”

It will be quieter on the SNP front, however. The party - now pushed into fourth place- will no longer be entitled to a weekly question for its leader. Instead, the Liberal Democrats’ Ed Davey will get two weekly questions.

Starmer will deflect, turning the spotlight on the Tories and the fiscal inheritance left by the former government. Abolishing the two – child benefit cap would somewhere between £2.5bn and £3.6bn this financial year. The new chancellor has already ordered a review of state spending under the Conservatives, so we can expect to hear a lot about the fiscal holes that need filling.

With the party now in opposition for the first time since 2010, Tory MPs and members will choose their new leader.

So who is likely to throw their hat into the ring, what do they believe in and, crucially, do they have the backing of party members?

Read the latest from our political reporter Tim Baker below:

Zarah Sultana, one of Labour MPs who has had the whip suspended, has said she is a victim of a "macho virility test".

The MP for Coventry South, who is on the left of the party, voted for the SNP motion to scrap the two-child benefit cap last night.

Speaking to the BBC this morning, Sultana said: "I’m not interested in playing up to this macho virility test that seems to be what people are talking about.

"It’s about the material conditions of 330,000 children living in poverty." She added: "This isn’t a game. This is about people’s lives."