The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has accused Tory leader Kemi Badenoch of desperately seeking relevance.
During Wednesday’s plenary, Starmer referred to Badenoch as a “self-appointed saviour of Western civilisation desperate for relevance.”
This was in response to Badenoch’s assertion of slashing aid in the defense budget.
During plenary, the Tory leader, had claimed Starmer heeded her advice on cutting aid while raising questions about the defence budget.
She said: “Over the weekend I suggested to the prime minister that he cut the aid budget, and I am pleased that he accepted my advice. It’s the fastest response I’ve ever had from the prime minister.
“However, he announced £13.4 billion of additional defence spending yesterday. This morning, his defence secretary said the uplift is only £6bn. Which is the correct figure?”
Responding, Starmer said he never saw her proposal before putting out the figure.
According to Starmer: “I’m going to have to let the leader of the opposition down gently. She didn’t feature in my thinking at all. I was so busy over the weekend I didn’t even see her proposal.
“She’s appointed herself, I think, the saviour of Western civilisation. It’s a desperate search for relevance. If you take the numbers for this financial year, and then the numbers for financial year 27/28, that’s a £13.4bn increase—the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War.”
