Sir Keir Starmer faced a grilling from Kemi Badenoch over Tulip Siddiq’s resignation and the economy as the two leaders clashed at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The London MP quit as a Treasury minister on Tuesday after a ministerial standards watchdog probe into links to the political movement of her aunt, the exiled former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
As City minister in charge of anti-corruption, Ms Siddiq has come under intense scrutiny over her use of properties in London linked to her aunt’s allies.
Sir Keir said he accepted the Hampstead and Highgate MP’s resignation “with sadness” - and that he wanted “to be clear that the door remains open for you going forward”.
The economy is also likely to be high on the agenda after Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax-raising budget fuelled market jitters, raising the cost of UK public borrowing.
However Ms Reeves received some welcome good news on Wednesday morning as it was revealed inflation in December dipped slightly to 2.5%.
Follow the latest updates below...
British visa plea for wealthy US citizens
14:29 , Rachael BurfordSir Keir Starmer was urged to open the door to wealthy US citizens desperate to emigrate from America as Donald Trump returns to the White House.
The Prime Minister was asked in Parliament to ensure there is a visa scheme which would enable American business chiefs and other high-flyers to come to Britain.
Allegations of corruption, a dramatic resignation and serious questions to answer
13:18It’s never a good look to be accused of helping to facilitate a multi-billion-pound contract with Vladimir Putin’s regime that was allegedly greased with kickbacks — still less when you’re the minister in charge of tackling money-laundering and illicit finance in the UK.
Read Jitendra Joshi’s deep dive into the Tulip Siddiq scandal here.
Labour MP's 'save Grangemouth oil refinery' plea
12:57 , Rachael BurfordStarmer faces calls from one of his own MPs to "save" the Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland, as it winds down.
Brian Leishman, Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, tells the Commons: "In the general election campaign, Labour leadership promised that if we won, we would step in and save the Grangemouth refinery, retain those jobs and invest in its future. Six months later, this hasn't happened yet.
"If the refinery closes then thousands of jobs will be lost and Scotland's national security will become massively weaker. Now that we are in power, I know that the Government should use it to intervene and save the refinery jobs, protect Scotland and deliver on the promise to build Grangemouth for the future.
"Will the Prime Minister do that?"
Starmer replies: "Before July, there was no plan at all to support the workers of Grangemouth. Within weeks and importantly we announced a £100 million deal for a growth deal and we're jointly funding Project Willow to find a viable long-term future.
"I take it very seriously and we'll do everything we can to make sure that viable long-term future is there for the workers, for their communities and all that rely on it."
PM not trying to 'ostracise Northern Ireland from the union'
12:55 , Rachael BurfordThe Prime Minister says the majority of goods moving between Britain and Northern Ireland will "enjoy unfettered access to Great Britain indefinitely".
Starmer was responding to TUV leader Jim Allister who accused him of trying to "further ostracise Northern Ireland from the union".
Allister tells the Commons: "Given President Trump's antipathy to the EU, how does the Prime Minister hope to attain a trade deal for the whole United Kingdom in circumstances where the trade laws affecting...Northern Ireland are the EU's trade laws, and in circumstances where the laws governing goods and the standards of those that can be imported are EU laws?
"How in those circumstances, can a deal be obtained for the whole United Kingdom? Or is the Prime Minister only interested in a deal which would apply to GB and thereby further ostracise Northern Ireland from the union?"
Starmer replies: "(Allister) knows that controls apply only to EU goods moving into Great Britain.
“The overwhelming majority of goods moving between Northern Ireland and Great Britain will continue to enjoy unfettered access to Great Britain indefinitely.
Charities in trouble
12:43 , Rachael BurfordTory MP Peter Bedford asks the PM what advice he'll give to charities who say they are faced with slashing jobs or services because of national insurance tax hikes.
Starmer hits back, accusing the Tories of wanting the "benefits" of Labour’s budget, without any of the tough measures necessary to support it.
Visas for wealthy Americans wishing to flee Trump's America?
12:39 , Rachael BurfordLib Dem leader Ed Davey asks the PM if his government will consider a visa scheme for “wealthy” Americans wishing to flee Donald Trump’s America,
It comes after reports that millionaire Democrats are lining up to leave the US following Trump’s historic presidential election win.
Davey says: “Turning to the economy, and ideas for the Chancellor to grow the economy, as President elect Trump prepares to take office, there are reports that a number of wealthy, highly skilled Americans are looking to come to the UK for fear of what Trump will do to their country
“But because the Conservatives so broke the immigration system, many of them are finding there's no visa that they should apply for.
“Now I know the Prime Minister is rightly seeking to reduce immigration from the record highs under the Conservatives.
“But does he agree that if people like this want to come to our country, to bring their money and their skills so to grow our economy and pay for our public services, they should be able to?”
Starmer dodges the question:
“The last government lost control of immigration as they lost control of health, of the economy, the borders and everything else, and it was, of course, the leader of the opposition who was championing the driving up of the numbers,” he tells MPs.
”So we will bring those numbers down. We'll get it back under control. We'll encourage investment.”
Questions about Tulip Siddiq's appointment
12:28 , Rachael BurfordWhat does Tulip Siddiq’s appointment as the government’s City minister tell us about the Prime Minister’s “judgement”, the Tory leader asks.
“This was an anti-corruption minister under criminal investigation for corruption.
“Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Prize winner advising Bangladesh, said London properties gifted to the former city minister may be proceeds of robbery.
“So will the Prime Minister offer Bangladesh the full support of our National Crime Agency in ensuring that any properties bought with stolen funds are properly investigated?”
Starmer, who yesterday said he was “saddened” by Siddiq’s resignation, replied: “The former city minister referred herself to the independent adviser.
“He found there was no breach of the code. [Badenoch] knows that he found that there was no wrongdoing and that the former minister fully cooperated.”
Chancellor will be in place for 'many many years'
12:20 , Rachael BurfordKemi Badenoch challenges the Rachel Reeves’s attempt to defend her budget in the Commons yesterday.
She asks the PM whether he's ready to support his Chancellor going forward and demands reassurances that there will not be an emergency budget in the coming months.
Keir Starmer says his chancellor will be in place for "for many, many years to come".
Are further tax rises on the card?
12:14 , Rachael BurfordKemi Badenoch claimed that the Chancellor “ignored all the warnings” about going on a tax “spree” in her October budget.
The Tory leader asks the PM if he can “rule out any new tax rises this year?”
“We took the right and difficult decisions at the budget,” he says.
“Decisions that [the Tories] did not have the courage to take which left us in this mess in the first place.
“When it comes to tax [Badenoch] knows very well the limits of what I can say from this despatch box but we have an ironclad commitment to our fiscal rules.”
Small business hit
12:10 , Rachael BurfordThe Tory leader’s first question is on the budget and national insurance tax hikes that firm bosses say could hit growth.
Kemi Badenoch asks why any company owner should “trust the a word he says over the businesses who are saying again and again that his budget means fewer jobs and higher borrowing costs?”
Starmer hits back that Labour were forced to make “tough decisions” because of the “£22billion black hole” in the country’s finances left by the previous Conservative government.
Keir Starmer at the despatch box
12:04 , Rachael BurfordStarmer begins PMQs by again “warmly” congratulating Donald Trump who is set to move back into the White House on his inauguration day on Monday.
Talks continue on Chagos Islands deal
11:49 , Daniel KeaneMeanwhile, the Mauritian government has said that talks will continue on the Chagos Islands deal, with attorney general Gavin Glover set to return to the UK for further negotiations.
A statement issued following a meeting of prime minister Navin Ramgoolam's cabinet said: "The commitment and resolve of Mauritius to reach an agreement and end this long battle for the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago remains unshaken."
Desire to ‘meet every concern’ over HS2 causes extra costs and delays
11:30 , Daniel KeaneA desire to “meet every concern and objection” over HS2 causes delays and extra costs for the high-speed railway project, according to the Government’s independent adviser on infrastructure.
Sir John Armitt, chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, told MPs a “private sector approach” would have been to say “Sorry, I have not got any more money”.
He said the decision to retain HS2 Ltd – the company responsible for the project being built – within the Department for Transport (DfT) “can lead to too much oversight”, because ministers being involved in too many decisions “is bound to lead to delays”.
Read our full story here.
UK troops touch down in Japan for joint drill
11:15 , Daniel KeaneUK troops have touched down in Japan, as the two countries' senior defence officials meet for talks to strengthen their alliance.
Some 100 UK soldiers have been deployed to the island of Kyushu for Exercise Vigilant Isles, a joint drill programme aimed at improving military teamwork between the two island nations.
Meanwhile, Defence Secretary John Healey met his Japanese counterpart, Gen Nakatani, in London, where they discussed the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), which will see Japan, the UK and Italy work together to build next-generation fighter jets.
"With increasing instability across the world, it is more important than ever that we strengthen co-operation with our international partners like Japan," Mr Healey said following the meeting.
Treasury minister 'very happy' to work with Siddiq again
11:02 , Daniel KeaneThe Chief Secretary to the Treasury has said he would be happy to work again with Tulip Siddiq, who resigned as a minister yesterday, if the Prime Minister brought her back into Government.
Darren Jones also rejected the idea that Ms Siddiq's appointment showed a lack of judgment from Sir Keir Starmer.
"I don't think there's a question about the Prime Minister's judgment," Mr Jones told Times Radio.
He said: "The independent process has been followed. It concluded, and Tulip took the decision to step down from Government.
"Tulip did a great job as City minister. She hasn't broken any rules. The Prime Minister was clear in his letter to Tulip that he would like to see a circumstance in which she can come back into government in the future."
Hopes of interest rate cut after inflation falls
10:52 , Daniel KeaneReacting to the news of house price rises, David Hollingworth, associate director at L&C Mortgages, said: "The surprise dip in inflation is some positive news for borrowers who will have been unsettled by the recent unrest in the gilt markets and what it may mean for mortgage rates.
"Although there may still be increases to come in the months ahead, the fall in inflation will firm up the hopes that the (Bank of England) Monetary Policy Committee will cut the base rate in February."
House prices rise in boost to homeowners
10:40 , Daniel KeaneSome more news on the economy, in a boost for homeowners.
Average UK house prices increased by 3.3%, to £290,000, in the 12 months to November 2024, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.
The annual growth rate accelerated from 3.0% in the 12 months to October 2024.
Average house prices increased in England to £306,000 (3.0% annual growth), in Wales to £219,000 (3.0%) and in Scotland to £195,000 (4.7%), in the 12 months to November 2024.
PMQs - what to expect
10:35 , Daniel KeaneHello and welcome to our live blog for Prime Minister’s Questions.
Sir Keir Starmer will be answering questions from his opposite number, Kemi Badenoch, in the House of Commons this afternoon.
Here is what to expect during another busy week in Westminster:
- Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq resigned after being embroiled in a corruption scandal
- The ethics tsar found that Ms Siddiq had not breached the ministerial code after it was revealed she had lived in London homes linked to political allies of her aunt, the former ruler of Bangladesh
- UK inflation unexpectedly fell last month in a boost to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who has faced pressure over her handling of the economy
