Kemi Badenoch will not remove the whip from a Conservative MP who criticised her after she accused Sir Keir Starmer of “evading” two Prime Minister’s Questions in a row by going to back-to-back G7 and Nato summits.
Asked by GB News at a business conference in London whether she would strip the whip from Mark Pritchard, the Conservative MP for The Wrekin, the Leader of the Opposition replied “No.”
However, Badenoch stressed there was “no reason” for PMQs to always be on a Wednesday and that the Prime Minister would not move it “because he doesn’t like answering questions.”
Badenoch’s intervention comes after Pritchard told the Commons: “Who knows, I may get the whip withdrawn for saying it, but so be it.”
After Badenoch’s earlier comments in the House, which followed the Prime Minister’s statement on the G7 and Nato, Starmer labelled his Commons challenger as “unserious”, saying: “There has never been a more important time to work with our allies, and to be absolutely serious in our response.”
The Prime Minister added: “To suggest that at a time like this that the Prime Minister attending a G7 summit and the Nato summit is avoiding PMQs is unserious.
“What happened at Nato yesterday was historic. It was very important at a time like this that Nato showed unity and strength with a commitment to the future, not just to the past.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey also expressed his dismay at Badenoch’s comments, saying: “It is astonishing, and I share his surprise, that it’s now Conservative policy not to attend the G7 and Nato.”
Kemi Badenoch
GB NEWS
Pritchard later broke ranks with other top Tories to take aim at Badenoch over her criticisms.
He told the House of Commons: “Whilst we may disagree on the detail, can I agree with the Prime Minister as far as possible in this place. It would be better to keep partisan politics out of national security issues.
“And who knows, I may get the whip withdrawn for saying it, but so be it.
“There are things that go beyond party politics. So can I thank the Prime Minister for all his hard work in the national security interests of this country?”
Tory MP Mark Pritchard
PARLIAMENT TV
Hitting back at her backbencher, Badenoch said: “If I have an MP criticising me for criticising the Prime Minister, then we need to ask what is the point of being in Opposition if you cannot point out where the Government is going wrong? That is my job.”
Badenoch added: “I love answering questions. The Prime Minister does not. It is perfectly possible to move PMQs to Thursday…It used to be on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
The Leader of the Opposition also claimed: “He [Starmer] doesn’t want to have PMQs because he doesn’t like answering questions.
“Anyone who’s even watched PMQs will see he doesn’t answer anything.
Sir Keir Starmer at Nato
PA
“There are too many people out there who think the Labour Party and the Conservative party have been hand in glove in causing problems for the country.
“Me cosying up to the PM when I think he’s made mistakes is not the way to win back public trust.”
However, the row comes as the Prime Minister’s authority faces its biggest threat from his own MPs over plans to cut Britain’s ballooning benefits bill by £5billion.
There are also growing questions about Badenoch’s future as Tory leader.
The North West Essex MP did not directly address GB News’s question about whether her own authority is dwindling too.
Tory MPs are alarmed by their plunge in the polls, with a YouGov MRP poll today projecting Badenoch’s Conservatives would only retain 48 seats if an election was held today.
Despite last year’s General Election being seen as the Tories’ lowest point, rumours continue to swirl around Westminster about potential runners and riders to eventually replace Badenoch.
However, Badenoch instead insisted that there are four years to go until the next General Election and argued that her approach is the right one to take the Tory Party forward.