UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer sought to project confidence and reinforce unity within the Labour Party during a spirited Prime Minister’s Questions session on Wednesday, as he faced challenges both from opposition benches and within his own ranks.
Starmer, who led Labour to a decisive victory earlier this year, used the weekly parliamentary showdown to call for “one Labour, united in purpose,” stressing the importance of discipline and focus as his government prepares to roll out its first major legislative agenda.
Responding to sharp questioning from Conservative leader Rishi Sunak, Starmer defended his administration’s policies on the economy, immigration, and healthcare, saying his government inherited “a nation tired of chaos and ready for change.”
00:04Mr Speaker, this morning on the BBC, the Health Secretary said there is a toxic culture in Downing Street that needs to change.
00:14He's right, isn't he?
00:15Mr Speaker, my focus each and every day is on rebuilding and renewing our country.
00:21But let me be absolutely clear, any attack on any member of my Cabinet is completely unacceptable.
00:27On the Health Secretary, Mr Speaker, in relation to the Health Secretary, he promised before the election that in the first year of a Labour government, we deliver 2 million extra appointments.
00:40We didn't deliver 2 million, or 3 or 4, we delivered 5 million extra appointments.
00:47Today, the Health Secretary is in Manchester where he's announcing that because of the action he's taken to abolish NHS England, he's putting more people on the front line.
00:56He's doing a great job, as is the whole of my Cabinet.
00:59The person responsible for the culture in No. 10 is his Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney.
01:05Does the Prime Minister have full confidence in him?
01:07No.
01:08My team and I are absolutely focused on delivering for the country.
01:12And let me be clear, of course, Mr Speaker, I've never authorised attacks on Cabinet members.
01:17I appointed them to their post because they're the best people to carry out their jobs.
01:21The real scandal is that two weeks from a Budget, the government has descended into civil war, instead of fixing the mess they've made of the economy.
01:31They're all...
01:32Mr Speaker, they're all chuntering.
01:37These are the feral MPs that No. 10 has been talking about.
01:40They're not my words.
01:42They're No. 10's words.
01:43His words.
01:44Mr Speaker, this is a united team and we are delivering together, look what we've delivered, the fastest growth of the G7, five interest rate cuts, trade deals with the EU, the US and India, all of which they oppose, we've delivered.
02:04President Trump is trying to destroy our BBC, not because he cares about the truth, but because he doesn't want to get away with his lies.
02:14Trump has undermined press freedom in America.
02:18Now he's trying to do the same here, disgracefully egged on by the leader of reform.
02:24So will the Prime Minister tell President Trump to drop his demand for a billion-dollar settlement from the BBC and will he guarantee that President Trump will not get a single penny from British licence fee payers?
02:40Let me be clear, I believe in a strong and independent BBC.
02:44Some would rather the BBC didn't exist.
02:50Some of them are sitting up there.
02:51I'm not one of them.
02:53In an age of disinformation, the argument for impartial British news service is stronger than ever.
03:00And where mistakes are made, they do need to get their house in order.
03:04And the BBC must uphold the highest standards, be accountable and correct errors quickly.
03:09But I will always stand up for a strong, independent BBC.
03:12The Prime Minister has stated very clearly that he wants to close the migrant hotels by the end of this Parliament.
03:24Well, the reform-led West Northamptonshire Council, brilliantly-led Council, will be issuing foreclosure notices on three migrant hotels within the next few days
03:38in response to grave public concern about the safety of women and girls on the streets of West Northamptonshire.
03:48Would the Prime Minister approve of us speeding up the closure of the migrant hotels?
03:54Mr Speaker, we will grip the mesh we inherited and close every hotel.
03:58At their peak, under the previous government, there were 400 hotels.
04:01Now there are only 200 remaining.
04:03But he says he doesn't have time to condemn the comments calling children in care evil.
04:08He's also not had the time, it appears, to condemn the racist comments of his own MP.
04:14Utterly spineless.
04:15Geoff Smith.
04:16Geoff Smith.
04:17Thank you, Mr Speaker.
04:19Last week I visited the new Diagnostic Centre at Withington Community Hospital.
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