In response to the prime minister’s press conference yesterday, Kemi Badenoch said she welcomed a public inquiry into the Southport murders but added — in a warning to the government — that there remain “serious questions” to answer.
PMQs, which sees Badenoch permitted six such questions, was the Conservative leader’s opportunity to get some answers. But she did not seek them.
Addressing the House from the despatch box, Badenoch turned down the opportunity to interrogate Keir Starmer over his alleged “failings”. She clarified she would “return” to this particular line of inquiry once the case is concluded.
Badenoch’s decision to avoid a battle on Southport was politically astute, if long-belated. Had Starmer been subjected to six questions over his handling of the incident, the Conservative Party would have faced accusations of “politicising” the tragedy. In any case, the prime minister stridently defended his response to the Southport attack in his press conference on Monday morning. Answering criticism that ministers were not transparent enough, Starmer insisted that any intervention would have compromised the legal process. He would have made that same argument today, quite happily and confidently.
Perhaps more pertinently, Badenoch risked being outdone in her criticism of the PM by Nigel Farage and Reform — as has been a prevalent theme of her tenure as Tory leader. This morning, Farage labelled the prime minister “cover up Keir” (the latest of the PM’s nicknames propagated by Online Right types), and argued government officials withheld information about the attack that the “public were entitled to.”
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This afternoon therefore, rather than face accusations of “politicising” the attack from Labour — and not going far enough in politicising the attack from Reform, Badenoch pursued her own path. She opted to press the prime minister on education and the government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which cleared its commons second reading earlier this year.
Education is viewed as one of the few success stories the Conservative Party can tell about its period in office. Badenoch’s charge was that, over the last fifteen years, pupil attainment in maths, reading and science has soared — with English schools now top of global league tables in the subjects. Labour, she argued, was now “reversing” this progress and willingly committing an act of “educational vandalism”.
This is the first session the Conservative leader has dedicated to a single policy question; scattergun holstered, she was able to build and prosecute a sustained argument. On the whole, Starmer was prepared for Badenoch’s curveball. But the exchange was far more balanced than recent battles.
The Conservative leader described Labour’s school reforms as an “attack on excellence” and “the worst of socialism”. She deployed a favourite Tory tactic by invoking Wales which, Badenoch said, has “tumbled down league tables” because of Labour policy. She added: “Poor children in England now do better than wealthier children in Wales.”
The passage that most pleased Badenoch’s backbenchers came when she questioned who would benefit most from Labour’s education reforms. “It is not teachers”, the Tory leader insisted, “their pay is being capped. It is not parents. Their choices are being restricted. It is definitely not children. Their outcomes will get worse.
“So who is benefiting? It is the trade unions. The National Education Union sent out a tick list proving that after a decade and a half, they are finally getting their way. Why is the education secretary allowing trade unions to run her department and ruin children’s education?”
Under genuine assault from Badenoch for the first time as PM, Starmer staunchly defended his government’s stance. “The bill benefits the children who need the nourishment of a breakfast club. The bill benefits the families that can’t afford uniforms. The bill benefits the children who are currently out of school and nobody knows where they are”, he said. On another occasion, the prime minister pointed out that academies were actually introduced by the last Labour government.
These points aside, the prime minister focused his responses on the safeguarding reforms in the bill, as opposed to its educational elements. Starmer’s subtle swerving was a signal Badenoch was asking the right questions.
The PM’s strongest moment came when Badenoch said his plan to levy VAT on independent schools would catch schools teaching children with special educational needs and disabilities in the crossfire. The prime minister responded: “She talks about special needs. She’s got a nerve. [Tory MPs] have asked me questions at these PMQs about the appalling situation of special needs under their watch.
“We’re going to fix that mess, like we’re fixing every other mess!”
In the end, Badenoch’s improved performance today serves as the exception that proves the rule. The Conservative leader did not leap onto the latest headlines, she declined the passing bandwagon — and was rewarded for it.
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There is a deeper lesson here then. The second reading of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill on 8 January came in the week when Westminster was consumed by Elon Musk’s conspiracist invective. At the time, rather than debate the substance of the bill, Badenoch took to the despatch box chasing a Musk retweet. She urged the prime minister to establish a national inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation; refusing to do so, she added, would ensure that people start worrying “about a cover-up”.
In response, Starmer referred to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill in terms that reflected positively on his government. “What can’t be tolerated is the idea that this afternoon, members opposite will vote down a bill which protects children”, he argued. The Conservative Party had tabled an amendment to the legislation, nominally urging the government to establish a national inquiry. At second reading however, MPs can only propose amendments that set out their objections to a bill; (committee stage is when MPs propose and vote on line-by-line changes). If passed, the amendment would have achieved nothing.
In other words, the Conservative leader forfeited an opportunity to tell a story about the last government’s education successes, in favour of a more newsy, but fundamentally more tactless Musk-inspired line of attack.
After all, Badenoch won a Musk retweet; but lost the PMQs exchange. Starmer emerged strengthened.
The Conservative leader’s decision to address education today was long overdue. Tory MPs will be hoping that Badenoch has learnt from her recent PMQs showings, and will adopt this less reactive, more disciplined approach as standard.
But Conservative MPs will also be reminded of the risk. Commenting on PMQs, Nigel Farage posted to X (formerly Twitter): “Not a single question on Southport from Kemi Badenoch… What is the point of the Tories?”
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