Sir Keir Starmer has sidestepped calls to repeat Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ pledge of no more borrowing or tax rises following the Budget.
The Prime Minister said he was “not going to write the next five years of budgets” at the despatch box in the House of Commons when challenged by Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch.
In a series of tetchy exchanges between the pair, Mrs Badenoch also pressed Sir Keir on whether he would continue with a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.
Her question came after Vauxhall-owner Stellantis said it would close its van-making plant in Luton, putting 1,100 jobs at risk, amid what it called the “stringent” UK zero-emission vehicle mandate.
Sir Keir also dismissed a petition calling for a general election after Mrs Badenoch raised it and suggested he should resign.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), the Tory leader said: “At the CBI conference on Monday, the Chancellor said – and I quote – ‘I’m clear, I’m not coming back with more borrowing or more taxes’.
“I know that telling the truth to this House is important to the Prime Minister, so will he repeat his Chancellor’s pledge now?”
Sir Keir replied: “We set out our position at the Budget, which was just set out. We’re fixing the foundations. We’re dealing with the £22 billion black hole that they left.
“I’m not going to write the next five years of budgets here at this despatch box but we said we wouldn’t hit the payslips of working people. We’ve passed the Budget. We’ve invested in the future, and we’ve kept that promise.”
Mrs Badenoch claimed that Sir Keir was “not fixing any foundations, he’s making everything worse”, before adding: “The whole House would have heard him refuse to repeat the Chancellor’s pledge, a pledge as worthless as the manifesto promises that he’s talking about.”
Speaking ahead of PMQs, Ms Reeves said she had “wiped the slate clean on the economic and fiscal mismanagement of the previous government”.
She told broadcasters: “We have put our public finances on a firm footing and we have properly funded our public services, and our public services now need to live within the means that we have set them for this Parliament.”
Elsewhere at PMQs, Sir Keir defended the Government’s approach to business and claimed the Tories “really haven’t got a clue what they’re doing” when it comes to policies.
Mrs Badenoch countered: “To know what Conservatives would do, he should resign and find out. Until then, I’m the one asking the questions. There’s a petition out there, two million people asking him to go.”
The Tory leader claimed Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s employment rights legislation will “stop businesses hiring”.
Sir Keir, in his reply, said: “She talks about a petition, we had a massive petition on July 4 in this country. We spent years taking our party from a party of protest to a party of government, they are hurtling in the opposite direction.”
Mrs Badenoch described the response as “nonsense” and appeared to use the concerns of a biscuit company to aim a jibe at Ms Rayner.
She said: “Following his Budget, the head of McVitie’s has said that it has been harder to understand what the case for investment in the UK is.
“So while the Prime Minister has been hobnobbing in Brazil, businesses have been struggling to digest his Budget. Isn’t it the case that the Employment Rights Bill shows that it is not only the ginger nut that is causing him problems?”
Sir Keir defended his attendance at the G20 summit and accused Mrs Badenoch of “carping from the sidelines”, adding: “She’s racked up £6.7 billion of unfunded commitments in just three weeks as Leader of the Opposition.”
Turning to potential job losses at Vauxhall’s plant in Luton, Mrs Badenoch said: “While he flies around making unilateral commitments, back home the real world effects are businesses closing in Bedfordshire and Basildon.
“Does the Prime Minister stand by his promise to ban the sale of petrol cars by 2030 even if more jobs will be lost?”
We're getting on with supporting those communities, she's shouting from the sidelines
Sir Keir replied: “The question of the position of jobs in Luton is a very serious one and families and workers will be very worried and we’re obviously engaging with them.
“I would remind the Leader of the Opposition that EV mandates were an issue in this particular case were actually introduced by the last government. I would also remind her that she was the business secretary that introduced them.
“We’re getting on with supporting those communities, she’s shouting from the sidelines.”
Mrs Badenoch countered: “He clearly didn’t read his briefing about the EV mandate. The fact is we changed the date and made it easier for people. Everything he has done is attack people.”
She went on to say the Budget was an “attack” on farmers, workers, pensioners, young people, charities and businesses, adding: “The whole system is broken and he is making things worse. Everyone is unhappy.”
Sir Keir replied: “I think she’s just read out the charge sheet against the last government – everything is broken.
“They come here every week with absolutely nothing to offer except complaints. Nothing constructive, no new ideas, they don’t know what they’re doing from one day to the next.”
