Has Sir Keir Starmer raised his game at Prime Minister’s Questions?
Suddenly, he’s less wooden, robotic and lawyerly and much more aggressive against the Conservatives and Reform UK.
It has been noticeable in the past few weeks how he’s taken the gloves off in his attacks on Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage.
The new style at PMQs coincides with Labour attack ads against Reform and hard-hitting videos selling the government’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Of course, macho Keir is part of the Labour fightback in response to the Sky News/YouGov poll that put Reform ahead of Labour for the first time.
So in the last PMQs for two weeks – yes, there’s yet another parliamentary recess next week – Sir Keir slammed the Tories and Reform UK for voting against Labour’s borders bill on Monday.
That’s right: immigration, the issue another opinion poll at the weekend suggested is the biggest issue for Reform voters and Tory voters considering switching to Reform UK.
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In a pantomime-style routine with Labour backbenchers joining in, Sir Keir said theatrically: “They voted against – that’s Reform and the Tories.
“They voted against making it an offence to organise the buying, selling and transport of small boats.”
Labour MPs repeatedly shouted “Against!” as Sir Keir continued: “Against making an offence to endanger lives at sea, against a power to arrest suspected people smugglers before the smuggling takes place.
“They voted against, they voted for open borders, both of them.”
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At one point during PMQs, the newly combative Sir Keir even had the brass neck to claim that “farming is top of the agenda as far as I’m concerned”.
Really? He was rightly challenged by new Tory MP Harriet Cross – who looks like one to watch – about a Labour minister declaring that farmers were “not high on the pecking order” for the government.
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Another party leader on good form at PMQs these days is Sir Ed Davey, who is regularly asking the serious questions on the big issues that the Tory leader is ignoring.
This week it was President Trump’s threats on Ukraine and tariffs. He even had a good joke which MPs seemed to miss, calling for tariffs on American electric cars. That’s right, Elon Musk’s Teslas.
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On the other hand, PMQs is poorer for hearing fewer questions from Stephen Flynn now the SNP is no longer the third biggest party. His direct style usually hits the target and is sorely missed.
Which brings us to Kemi Badenoch. Is Sir Keir looking better because she’s poor, as some critics claim? Her approach is still too scattergun and the PM is winning their weekly battles as his more aggressive approach pays off.
