Keir Starmer faced Kemi Badenoch during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday as the leader of the Tories questioned the Labour leader over council tax hikes to fill in the £2.4 billion black hole in 2025.
Badenoch asked Starmer during PMQs over the government’s plans for council funding in England and if Labour will raise the cap on council tax.
Starmer said that the Tory leader “wants all the benefits” from the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget but will not say how they can pay for it.
Badenoch asked: “Will the Prime Minister confirm that he will keep the cap on council tax?”
The Labour leader replied, “On the question of councils, she knows what the arrangements are.”
Badenoch responded, “I think the House would have heard that the Prime Minister could neither confirm nor deny whether the cap on council tax was being raised.”
She then asked how much extra funds the local authorities needs to cover the “social care funding cap” that the Chancellor created during her Budget raising employers national insurance contributions.
Previously the Labour leader was asked the same question from the Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine on healthcare funding. “It’s all very well this knockabout but not actually listening to what I’ve said three minutes ago is a bit of a fundamental failure of the Leader of the Opposition.
“I just said £600 million. I repeat it: £600 million.”
The Conservative leader warned of the risk of increased costs for care providers, Starmer interjected and accused the Tories of leaving the authorities in a “catastrophic state.”
The Conservative leader later said, “The Prime Minister probably does not realise that, on Monday, the Ministry for Communities, Local Government and Housing revealed that councils will need to find an additional £2.4 billion in council tax next year. That is a lot more than £600 million.
“I know that he has been away, but did the Deputy Prime Minister (Angela Rayner) who runs that department make him aware of their £2.4 billion black hole?”
Sir Keir replied: “Let me get this straight, she doesn’t want any of the measures in the Budget, but she wants all the benefits.
“So the magic money tree is back after two weeks in office. They’ve learned absolutely nothing. We put forward a Budget which takes the difficult decisions, fixing the £22 billion black hole that they left, investing in the future of our country.
“They say they want all of that, but they don’t know how they’re going to pay for it – same old Tories.”
Badenoch accused Labour fiddling “the fiscal rules” she then highlighted the increase in employers’ national insurance will be a “disaster” for small businesses.
Adding, “Their ideological Budget was designed to milk the private sector and hope nobody would notice.
“Now his Cabinet ministers are all queuing up for public sector bailouts to his tax mess. If he is going to bail out the public sector then can he tell us this: does he think it is appropriate – as the Ministry for Housing has done – to approve a four-day week for councils that is not flexible working, but is actually part-time work for full-time pay?”
Starmer told MPs in the House of Commons, “Questions based on what we’re actually doing are usually better than fantasy questions made up.
“What did they deliver in 14 years? Low growth, a stagnant economy, a disastrous mini budget, a £22 billion black hole and now she wants to give me the advice on running the economy?
“I don’t want to be rude but no thank you, very much.”
