Keir Starmer accused of bailing out those on benefits instead of reducing bills

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of bailing out those on benefits by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, as she claimed he is at fault for rising energy costs.

The Prime Minister hit back, saying Mrs Badenoch continuously “gets the big calls absolutely wrong” and the spike in costs is a result of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Oil and gas prices have risen as a result of the crisis, hitting motorists as they fill up at the pumps and potentially pushing up domestic energy bills later this year.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said work is under way on targeted help for households when the current energy price cap expires at the end of June and global prices could push up domestic bills.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Mrs Badenoch said: “He says bills are coming down. They are higher than they were when he came into office.”

She added: “Families and businesses will suffer from the spike in energy costs because of his decisions, he could abolish the green taxes on their bills, he could stop the fuel duty rise, we could drill our own gas in the North Sea.

“What is he doing? He is planning another giveaway to people on welfare. Yet again, he is taking money from those who do work to give to those who don’t.

“First we had the budget for Benefit Street. Now it’s the bailout for Benefit Street. Doesn’t this just prove that they’ve given up being the Labour Party and they’re now just the welfare party?”

Sir Keir replied: “She talks about the spike in energy prices that’s because of the war, which I say we shouldn’t join, and she says we should join without following through on the consequences.

“And time and time again, she gets the big calls absolutely wrong.

“She wanted to drag us into the war. She got that wrong. She opposed taking control of energy security, and she got that wrong. She opposed our decision to cut energy bills, and she got that wrong, and she seriously thinks that will make her relevant, and she’s got that wrong.”

Mrs Badenoch had pressed the Prime Minister to approve new licences for drilling in the North Sea, including at the Rosebank and Jackdaw sites.

Sir Keir insisted this is for the Energy Secretary to decide.

Later in the session, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey accused Mrs Badenoch of “crocodile tears” over the Iran war, after she “cheered on this illegal war without a thought for the impact of people’s energy bills”.

He also criticised Donald Trump’s actions, saying: “Just before President Trump posted about his supposed negotiations with Iran on Monday, traders made hundreds of millions of dollars of extra bets on oil futures.

“This looks like Donald Trump giving his mates insider information so they can make themselves richer, while his illegal war in Iran makes everyone else poorer. This looks like corruption of the very worst kind.

“Does the Prime Minister share my fear that Trump is making his war decisions based on what enriches himself and his friends rather than what makes peace in the Middle East?”

Sir Keir Starmer replied: “In relation to the traders, we’ve seen the activity there.

“What I can say is that all of my decisions are based in the best interests of our country, and that’s why I’ve decided that we will not get dragged into the war, unlike the Leader of the Opposition, and I’ve decided we will act in collective self-defence of ourselves and our allies.

“And so I comment on my actions, and they’re the principles behind my actions.”

Former leader of the Tories Sir Iain Duncan Smith pressed the Prime Minister to “make the decision” to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

He described them as a “brutal bunch of thugs”.

Sir Keir said the IRGC had been sanctioned “in its entirety”, adding: “Existing proscription powers are not designed for a state organisation but we do keep this under review.”