Debate record: 🔴 PMQs LIVE: Prime Minister's Questions - 29 April 2026

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Source: UK Parliament · 🔴 PMQs LIVE: Prime Minister's Questions - 29 April 2026

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Kemi Badenoch (Conservative)

Leader of the Opposition (Conservative Party)

Badenoch deployed a series of interlocking fiscal attacks: that 1.5 million more people are claiming Universal Credit since Starmer took office, that welfare spending now exceeds income tax receipts for the first time in UK history, and that borrowing costs have reached a two-decade high. She reinforced the welfare-versus-defence tension by quoting former Labour Defence Secretary Lord Robertson, and escalated the pressure by explicitly demanding the Prime Minister reshuffle Chancellor Rachel Reeves. The Prime Minister did not directly rebut the headline 1.5 million figure, leaving it on the parliamentary record unchallenged.

Key moments:

• Badenoch stated that 1.5 million more people are out of work and claiming Universal Credit since Starmer became Prime Minister, and that for the first time ever, the UK is spending more on welfare than it earns in income tax. ▶ 3:37
• Badenoch cited former Labour Defence Secretary Lord Robertson — 'We cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget' — to argue that rising welfare spending has made UK defence unaffordable, using a cross-party voice to insulate the attack from partisan dismissal. ▶ 4:40
• Badenoch stated that government borrowing costs are at their highest in two decades, that no defence investment plan exists, and explicitly called on the Prime Minister to reshuffle the Chancellor. ▶ 5:49

""The number is 1.5 million people... for the first time ever, we are now spending more on welfare than we earn in income tax.""

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Keir Starmer (Labour)

Prime Minister (Labour Party)

Starmer consistently reframed opposition attacks by pointing to concrete policy outcomes: reduced NHS waiting lists, increased national minimum wage, upgrades to workers' and renters' rights, and defence spending raised to its highest sustained level since the Cold War. His most substantive positive moment was announcing a £300 million AstraZeneca investment in UK life sciences, credited to a pharmaceutical arrangement struck with the United States. However, he did not directly rebut Badenoch's 1.5 million Universal Credit figure, and his responses to questions about borrowing costs and the welfare bill were largely deflective.

Key moments:

• Starmer announced a £300 million investment by AstraZeneca in UK life sciences, made possible by a pharmaceutical arrangement with the United States, securing thousands of jobs in Macclesfield and Cambridge. ▶ 18:42
• Starmer defended the Chancellor against calls for her removal, citing falling inflation and interest rate cuts, and attributed increased borrowing costs to the conflict in Iran rather than domestic policy. ▶ 6:47
• Starmer defended his government's defence spending record, claiming it represents the highest sustained level since the Cold War and contrasting it with the previous government's reduction from 2.5% to 2.3% of GDP. ▶ 5:21

""Today I can announce a significant new investment by AstraZeneca investing 300 million pounds in UK life sciences made possible by the pharmaceutical arrangement we have struck with the United States to futureproof thousands of jobs in Macclesfield and in Cambridge.""

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Sir Ed Davey (Liberal Democrats)

Liberal Democrat Leader (Sir Ed Davey)

Sir David deployed a structurally awkward question: he cited Ambassador Turner's reported assessments — that Trump's special relationship is solely with Israel, that Starmer's job is at risk, and that Epstein associates have evaded accountability — and asked whether the Prime Minister would fire a second ambassador for telling the truth. The Prime Minister deflected by ridiculing the question. Sir David then pivoted to food security, urging inclusion of a 'good food bill' in the King's Speech in the context of experts warning of a 10% rise in food prices.

Key moments:

• Sir David cited Ambassador Christian Turner's reported remarks on Trump, Epstein, and Starmer's political position, asking whether the Prime Minister feared having to fire a second ambassador — this time for telling the truth. ▶ 12:36
• Sir David raised warnings from experts of a 10% rise in food prices due to soaring farmer costs and weak food security, urging the Prime Minister to include a 'good food bill' in the King's Speech. ▶ 14:07

""The prime minister has had to fire one US ambassador for lying. Does he fear he'll now have to fire a second one for telling the truth?""

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Stephen Flynn (SNP)

SNP Westminster Leader

Flynn framed the session as a potential finale — either for Starmer or for himself — and used it to catalogue what he described as the Prime Minister's defining failures: inaction on the cost of living crisis, the politically damaging winter fuel payment decision, the loss of North Sea jobs in Scotland, the closure of Grangemouth, and questionable judgement on figures like Matthew Doyle and Peter Mandelson. His critique was more sweeping than forensic, functioning as a political obituary rather than a targeted line of attack.

Key moments:

• Flynn suggested the parliamentary session began with promise but delivered chaos rather than change, and listed a series of specific failures including Grangemouth, winter fuel payments, and North Sea job losses in Scotland. ▶ 16:44

"This session began with anticipation and promise of change — and ended delivering chaos instead of change."

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Robin Swann (DUP)

Democratic Unionist Party MP

Swan used what he framed as a potentially historic PMQs moment to pose a broader question about why the government's stated aspirations had not translated into delivery, specifically citing failures to support women, farmers, and Northern Ireland veterans and victims. His closing suggestion — that those around the Prime Minister may have been more interested in themselves — offered an implicit critique of the character of the government rather than specific policy.

Key moments:

• Swan asked why the government had failed to deliver for women, farmers, Northern Ireland veterans, and victims, and whether those surrounding the Prime Minister bore responsibility for the administration's failures. ▶ 30:41

"Things went wrong — whether through failure to support women, farmers, Northern Ireland veterans and victims — or potentially because those around him were more interested in themselves."

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Dr. Luke Evans (Conservative)

Conservative MP

Evans made a pointed procedural challenge, arguing that the act of whipping against an investigation is itself evidence of concern about what an investigation would reveal. The question was short but rhetorically sharp, implying that the Prime Minister's version of events is not trusted even within the chamber.

Key moments:

• Evans asked why the Prime Minister needed to force MPs to vote against an investigation if he had done nothing wrong and followed due process. ▶ 24:24

"If he had done nothing wrong and followed due process, why did he need to force MPs to vote against an investigation?"

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Chris Hinchliff (Labour)

Labour MP (North East Hertfordshire)

Cliff raised a strategic vulnerability argument, linking geopolitical instability from the war in Iran to immediate risks in UK supply chains for food, fuel, and medicine. He escalated the argument by predicting that climate breakdown will dwarf current instability, urging the Prime Minister to use the King's Speech as an opportunity to fundamentally redirect the economy. The intervention was more visionary than partisan.

Key moments:

• Cliff warned that Britain's reliance on imports for food, fuel, and medicine is dangerous and worsened by the war in Iran, and urged the Prime Minister to use the King's Speech to redirect the economy toward food, energy, and medicine security. ▶ 15:45

"Climate breakdown will make the current instability look trivial — we need the King's Speech to redirect the economy towards food, energy, and medicine security."

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John Hayes (Conservative)

Conservative MP

Hayes drew a direct conflict between the government's clean energy infrastructure push and the protection of farmland, framing them as policy enemies. His intervention was positioned as a practical planning concern rather than a climate sceptic argument, making it harder for the Prime Minister to dismiss outright. The Prime Minister acknowledged food security's importance but defended energy infrastructure as a precondition for agricultural resilience.

Key moments:

• Hayes questioned why government policy makes energy and food security enemies of each other, as productive land is consumed by pylons and solar projects, and asked the Prime Minister to meet to discuss protecting Britain's food security. ▶ 19:24

"Why does government policy appear to make energy and food security enemies of each other, as productive land is consumed by industrial developments, pylons, and solar projects?"

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Sir Jeremy Wright (Conservative)

Conservative MP (former Attorney General)

Wright raised a nuanced regulatory concern: that government-imposed age restrictions, if framed as the primary child safety mechanism, could inadvertently allow platforms to step back from their own obligations under the Online Safety Act. His question was constructive rather than adversarial, seeking clarification of policy intent rather than attacking the government's record. The Prime Minister confirmed that platform providers must retain responsibility, citing a recent confrontation with Grock over harmful images.

Key moments:

• Wright asked the Prime Minister to confirm that any government restrictions on young people's social media access would not allow platforms to reduce their own child safety obligations under the Online Safety Act. ▶ 21:57

"Any government restrictions on young people's social media access must not allow companies to reduce their own efforts to keep children safe online."

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MP (Labour)

Labour MP (LGBT veterans' issues)

The MP highlighted a gap in the existing compensation scheme for LGBT personnel dismissed from service, specifically that MI6 and the wider security services appear excluded despite equivalent historical injustice. The intervention was personally grounded and drew a sympathetic response from the Prime Minister, who confirmed the security minister is assessing the issue and agreed to a meeting.

Key moments:

• The MP raised a constituent who lost their MI6 job due to sexuality in the 1980s without compensation, asking the Prime Minister to extend the existing armed forces scheme to cover security services. ▶ 11:19

"My constituent lost their job in MI6 because of their sexuality in the 1980s — they deserve the same recognition as gay armed forces personnel."

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Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour)

Labour MP (Smethwick)

Joanne's contribution was a supportive intervention cataloguing local Labour achievements, framed against unnamed opposition. The segment was low in news value and served primarily to allow the Prime Minister to reiterate the government's record on lifting children out of poverty and delivering key reforms.

Key moments:

• Joanne praised Labour-run Sandwell Council for low council tax, investment in local facilities, and children's initiatives, crediting Labour government policy. ▶ 0:52

"Labour in Sandwell is delivering for local children and residents despite opposition from those who would rather see us fail."

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Rushanara Ali (Labour)

Labour MP (Bethnal Green and Stepney)

Ali's intervention provided the Prime Minister with a platform to announce the AstraZeneca £300 million investment, making it one of the most consequential questions of the session despite its supportive framing. The question linked local health inequality concerns in Whitechapel to the broader national life sciences agenda.

Key moments:

• Ali asked the Prime Minister to direct the Office for Investment and the National Wealth Fund to co-sponsor the Bart's life sciences cluster in Whitechapel to address health inequalities and drive UK life sciences growth. ▶ 18:06

"The Bart's life sciences cluster in Whitechapel can address health inequalities and drive UK life sciences growth — but it needs the National Wealth Fund and the Office for Investment behind it."

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Lee Pitcher (Labour)

Labour MP (Doncaster East and Isle of Axholme)

The MP framed the airport reopening as a jobs and growth priority for South Yorkshire and used the question to put political pressure on Reform councillors at the local level. The Prime Minister responded with strong support for the project and explicit criticism of Reform Doncaster's reported position.

Key moments:

• The MP raised concerns that Reform councillors in Doncaster are considering reversing support for the investment needed to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport, asking the Prime Minister to affirm the project's priority. ▶ 29:22

"Reform councillors in Doncaster must not be allowed to reverse their decision and jeopardise the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport."

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Sarah Gibson (Labour)

Labour MP (KHN constituency)

Gibson's intervention was constituency-specific and urgent in tone, citing direct health impacts on residents and children. The Prime Minister offered a brief sympathetic response and committed to ensuring she received a reply, but no substantive policy position was advanced.

Key moments:

• Gibson described a landfill site in KHN producing sulphurous smells causing children to suffer sore throats, with the Environment Agency admitting its controls may not be functioning, and asked for DEFRA intervention. ▶ 33:08

"The Environment Agency admits its controls may not be working — my constituents deserve to know their health is being protected."

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Anna Dixon (Labour)

Labour MP (Shipley)

The question was supportive and invited the Prime Minister to make a broader political statement about the government's legacy at the close of the first parliamentary session. It produced a reflective response from the Prime Minister asserting his government is the first in generations to bring services into public ownership and lift children out of poverty.

Key moments:

• The MP asked the Prime Minister what he is most proud of from the first parliamentary session and what his message is to voters in Shipley, citing renters' security, free breakfast clubs, extended childcare, and the end of zero-hours contracts. ▶ 20:46

"Labour has delivered for renters, families, and workers in Shipley — and I want to know what the Prime Minister is most proud of."

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MP (Labour)

Labour MP (Cudon constituency)

The MP's question combined local investment pride with a substantive policy concern about the pace and effectiveness of private rental sector reform. The Prime Minister reaffirmed the government's commitment to 1.5 million new homes and the abolition of no-fault evictions, criticising the opposition for abstaining on related legislation.

Key moments:

• The MP asked about progress on fixing the private rental sector and protecting renters in Cudon from no-fault evictions, in the context of government investment including new trams and pride in place funding. ▶ 23:14

"With fair funding, pride in place, and new trams coming to Cudon, when will renters be fully protected from no-fault evictions?"

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Catherine Atkinson (Labour)

Labour MP (Derby North)

The MP's question was primarily celebratory, designed to give the Prime Minister an opportunity to talk up Derby's investment prospects, including submarine fleet renewal and nuclear reactor construction. The exchange was low in news value but demonstrated the government's local growth messaging.

Key moments:

• The MP asked the Prime Minister to agree that with Labour government backing, Team Derby can deliver investment and growth for all residents of Derby. ▶ 25:03

"With Labour government backing, Team Derby can ensure every resident shares in the city's success."

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MP (Labour)

Labour MP (South End / Mid and South Essex)

The intervention was a measured acknowledgement of continued local NHS underperformance set against the government's broader NHS narrative. The MP's constructive tone — welcoming the intensive recovery programme while pressing for further attention — allowed the Prime Minister to cite improving national metrics while acknowledging local gaps.

Key moments:

• The MP thanked DHSC for placing the Mid and South Essex NHS Trust on an intensive recovery programme, but pressed the Prime Minister for a meeting to discuss wider healthcare plans for South End given ongoing struggles at the hospital. ▶ 26:45

"Improvements across the NHS are welcome, but South End Hospital continues to struggle — my constituents need assurance that the intensive recovery programme will deliver real change."

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