PMQs: Burnham and Badenoch's foreplay is just the beginning
Connor Summerell • UK • 2 minute read
Image: Ben Perry (Number 10) / Flickr
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PMQs returned in earnest yesterday after a summer which has seen the tectonic plates of Labour politics shift, and the right of British politics jostle to be the face of Burnham’s opposition. However, despite this, it was largely business as usual, only this time with better oratory thanks to the removal of Starmer in favour of his more articulate rival.
Following a rather funny joke from Badenoch about Burnham’s stamina, the bulk of today’s questions centred around the fiscal prudence of the new administration. Badenoch pursued the narrative of Burnham as a people-pleasing tax-and-spend Labour politician. Burnham combatted this well, referencing his reprioritisation of funding from the digital ID scheme to more deserving areas. Then, as has become Labour custom since October 2022, Burnham lambasted the Conservative Party’s enablement of Truss’s mini-budget and pointed out how Badenoch had only this week replaced her Shadow Chancellor, who had condemned the mini-budget, with a minister who was serving in the Treasury at the time. This exchange was red meat for backbenchers, but left those of us watching at home deeply uninspired.
We may well be in for the most interesting set of PMQs since Brown-Cameron 16 years ago
Then, unfortunately, due to parliamentary convention, it was the turn of Liberal Democrat leader Davey to ask the Prime Minister his questions. Firstly, he tried to get Burnham to commit to a much more stridently pro-EU position. Despite my overt sympathies for rejoining the EU, this question was a total waste of breath. In response, the PM committed to a closer relationship with Europe while acknowledging that the ‘Made in Europe’ policy floated by various EU leaders may pose problems for domestic industry now that we are outside of the bloc. Davey then used his second question to ask a much more pertinent question about the state of maternity services in the UK, which Burnham answered both seriously and eloquently. Hopefully this administration can bear real fruit for new and expecting parents.
Finally, there was an array of questions from backbenchers, ranging from anti-social behaviour to the plight of unemployed young people. Burnham handled these well, with a rather peppy answer regarding the ‘summer of sex’ spearheaded by the Derbyshire South MP Samantha Niblett, which marked the end of his first PMQs.
Overall, this was a solid performance from the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. Both sang off a familiar hymn-sheet while they sized up their opponent; after all, it was only the second time they had spoken over the dispatch box. Davey continues to flounder in a political no-man’s land, unable to achieve a significant breakthrough and lacking originality while boasting a misplaced focus. While we cannot be sure, when both the PM and Leader of the Opposition get more comfortable sparring with each other, we may well be in for the most interesting set of PMQs since Brown-Cameron 16 years ago.
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•Published: 03/09/26
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