Rishi Sunak’s £1,000 bet with Piers Morgan continues to cost him more than the wager itself. It dominated today’s PMQs, with both Keir Starmer and Stephen Flynn attacking him on it. The Labour leader also gave a striking retort to one of Sunak’s regular lines mocking him on not knowing what a woman is. When the PM trotted out that claim again, Starmer reacted with outrage, reminding the chamber that he had opened with a tribute to the murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey’s mother Esther, who was in parliament. He said:
‘Of all the weeks to say that, with Brianna’s mother in the gallery. Shame. Parading as a man of integrity.’
He added that everyone should be able to feel safe and respected. Later in the session, Labour MP Liz Twist demanded that Sunak apologise for his comments, which he ignored, despite shouts of ‘apologise!’ from the Opposition benches. Finally, at the very end of the session, he addressed Ghey’s mother directly, praising her ‘compassion and empathy’, saying ‘she deserves all our admiration and praise’.
Rishi Sunak attempts to attack Sir Keir Starmer over how Labour 'defines a woman' as the mum of Brianna Ghey, a trans teenager who was murdered, was sat in the Commons listening to prime minister's questions
— ITV News Politics (@ITVNewsPolitics) February 7, 2024
A shocked Sir Keir replies: 'Of all the weeks to say that… Shame' pic.twitter.com/CxW79NJ3Jb
The two men also continued their election slogan-off, arguing over who had broken more promises, and going over the same ground once again. The first question was on Sunak’s admission that he wasn’t going to meet his target on NHS waiting lists: ‘Isn’t he glad he didn’t bet a grand on it?’ Starmer asked. Sunak’s response was: ‘At least I stand by my commitments: he’s so indecisive that the only bet he’d make is an each way bet.’ Starmer carried on, reminding the Prime Minister that when he made the pledge, ‘it will be on me’, and asking what he had meant. That led to the list of things the Labour leader couldn’t make up his mind on, including the difference between a man and a woman. Starmer also accused Sunak of blocking the pay deal for doctors.
In case you were worrying about the NHS in Labour-run Wales, it came up in the next answer, in exactly the same way it does every week, and again in a question from Tory Alun Cairns, who claimed Nye Bevan would be ‘turning in his grave’ if he saw the state of the service today. If the Welsh health service charged royalties on the number of times it was raised, it would be in a much better spot.
Labour-run Wales is one thing, but the chaos in the Westminster party over its £28 billion green investment pledge is more of a problem for Starmer, which is why it came up again, accompanied by a Tory dossier published at the same time. As did Starmer defending Hizb-ut Tahrir. Did we learn anything? Only that Starmer felt sufficiently emboldened to turn a subject that he has genuinely agonised over – that of trans rights – back on the Prime Minister. At one point, the Speaker intervened on rowdy MPs and said he hoped election fever wasn’t coming yet. Some MPs looked as though they might be grateful for the relief of an election, rather than several months more of these repetitive exchanges.
Comments