KEIR Starmer has said he will not take “lectures” from the SNP on child poverty as he attacked the party for bringing up his support for the two-child benefit cap.
The Prime Minister was asked if Labour’s “honeymoon [was] over before it’s even begun” amid a ferocious row over the party voting on Tuesday night to keep the cap.
Starmer faced the first PMQs of his premiership less than 24 hours after suspending seven of his MPs, including former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, for voting against the Government.
They will sit as independents for the next six months for voting with the SNP to scrap the two-child cap.
Pete Wishart (above), the SNP’s deputy Westminster leader, told the Prime Minister that morning’s headlines were “awful” in the aftermath of the vote.
He said: “The Prime Minister has achieved something that we didn’t think would be possible in such a short period of time.
“In less than three weeks, he has had a significant rebellion and he has suspended seven of his members of parliament, all for standing up for child poverty. This, from a Labour government.
“The headlines are awful for the Prime Minister this morning, poverty campaigners are furious with the Prime Minister. Is his honeymoon over before it’s even begun?”
Starmer replied that the SNP have their own questions to answer on child poverty saying the party must “account for the 30,000 extra children in poverty in Scotland”.
He said: “Having left for the election campaign with quite a significant number of SNP members and come back with a small handful, I really don’t think lectures on what the electorate in Scotland are thinking, if you look at our, I’m very proud of our Scottish Labour MPs on this side of the house.”
The exchange came after Stephen Flynn (above), the SNP Westminster leader, was rapped by the Speaker for brandishing a copy of a Daily Record front page telling readers to vote Labour “for ending child poverty”.
The instruction came from former prime minister Gordon Brown and came five days before the General Election.
Flynn said: "Labour MPs from Scotland were instructed to retain the two-child cap which forces children into poverty. So Prime Minister, what changed?"
Starmer replied that he was he was “glad” to hear Brown mentioned because the last Labour government "lifted millions of children out of poverty".
