Well that was fiery. With Keir Starmer on his way back from Brazil, it was up to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner to cover PMQs. Instead of appointing a designated deputy, opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has chosen to rotate the honour of filling in for her in such circumstances because it’s nice to give everyone a turn. Today it was the shadow chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster, Alex Burghart.
You would be forgiven for asking, who’s that? Luckily, Rayner was there to jog memories. Burghart began with the news of the day: rising inflation (covered this morning by Will Dunn – who outlines why it’s such bad news for Labour). This gave Rayner the opportunity to remind the House that “the honourable member was the minister for growth under Liz Truss”. Ouch. Burghart thanked her for her “standard charm”, then asked the same question again. Her second answer was just as short, comparing today’s inflation rate with that under the Conservatives: “I’ll ask the honourable gentleman, 11.1 per cent or 3 per cent?”
Content from our partners
