PMQs: Kemi Badenoch accuses Keir Starmer of ‘patronising’ her

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has condemned the prime minister for “patronising” her.

Keir Starmer and Badenoch clashed over defence spending during prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, as the Tory leader claimed the government had accepted her “advice” following the announcement on Tuesday.

Badenoch said: “Over the weekend, I suggested to the prime minister that he cut the aid budget and I’m pleased that he accepted my advice…

“However, he announced £13.4 billion in additional defence spending yesterday. This morning his defence secretary [John Healey] said the uplift is only £6 billion.

“Which is the correct figure?”

The prime minister replied: “I’m going to have to let the leader of the opposition down gently.

“She didn’t feature in my thinking at all. I was so busy over the weekend I didn’t even see her proposal. I think she’s appointed herself [as] saviour of the Western civilisation. It’s a desperate search for relevance.”

Starmer added: “If you take the numbers for this financial year and then the numbers for the financial year 27/28, that’s a £13.4 billion increase.

“That is the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, which will put us in a position to ensure the security and defence of our country and of Europe.”

Badenoch insisted the prime minister was not being “very clear”. She added: “The [Institute for Fiscal Studies] said today that the government is playing silly games with numbers. How does he find this difference in numbers?”

Starmer responded: “We went through this two weeks ago – going through the same question over and over again.”

The Conservative leader branded the PM’s response “patronising”, adding: “It’s not a substitute for answering questions.”

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