Statement of discontent: Badenoch’s line of attack was initially tricky to spot, as she agrees with the PM about supporting Ukraine and protecting Greenland’s sovereignty from Donald Trump. However, while praising Starmer’s “efforts to advance peace,” Badenoch lambasted the “frankly astonishing” decision for the PM not to make a statement to the Commons as a “fundamental lack of respect.”
War of words: Starmer pointed out Tuesday’s coalition of the willing meeting in Paris resulted in a political declaration rather than a legal deployment. He stressed any British troops would “only be after a ceasefire to support Ukraine’s capabilities to conduct deterrent operations,” and there was ample time for MPs to “make their points of view.”
Finger-pointing: That, natch, wasn’t enough for Badenoch, who claimed Starmer was running “scared” of MPs. “He’s got no choice but to be here,” she said about his presence in the chamber. “If he could skip this, we know he would do.” There’s nothing like PMQs to reduce an international issue to personal disagreements. Calling for an urgent meeting of NATO members, the PM praised a “strong” meeting of the bloc last year and highlighted that the Tory leader criticized him for missing PMQs to attend it.
Military might: Starmer used PMQs as a vehicle to summarize Tuesday’s events in France, stressing the troops “would be to support Ukraine’s capabilities, it would be to conduct deterrence operations and to construct and protect military hubs.” However, there was less clarity about the exact number of people who would be deployed — which is either because ministers can’t tell us or they don’t yet know.
Back to the domestic: Naturally, interest in the nuances of Kyiv’s position and the future of Greenland could only last so long. What began as a spiky exchange descended into the usual tirade of anger as the duo squared off over defense spending, protecting Northern Ireland veterans, and Shadow Attorney General David Wolfson representing sanctioned Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. The outcome, as always, was clear as mud.
Helpful backbench intervention of the week: Brentford and Isleworth MP Ruth Cadbury queried when legislation reforming leasehold would be introduced. It was a new year, but the same Starmer — he didn’t provide a timetable but sang the praises of his reforms for renters and laid into the Tories and, er, Reform UK for voting against them.
Totally unscientific scores on the doors: Starmer 6/10. Badenoch 7/10. Neither leader enjoyed their best outing as they cranked back into gear after Christmas. Sober minds on the volatile geopolitical situation were missing in action: Badenoch ripped into the PM not speaking to Donald Trump recently, while Starmer tore into Tory contradictions. The Conservative leader slamming Starmer for not making an explicit statement after such a monumental meeting just about gave her a very middling win.