Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced a brutal attack during his final Prime Minister's Questions before Christmas, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch branding his cabinet a "bunch of turkeys" and calling him an "undertaker Prime Minister" amid rising political tensions. The heated exchange came as a new poll revealed Labour could lose power in Wales for the first time since devolution.
Badenoch launched a scathing assault on Starmer's record, accusing him of broken promises on economic growth, unemployment, and taxes. "The Prime Minister promised economic growth, but the only thing that's grown is his list of broken promises," she told the Commons. She claimed unemployment had risen every month since he took office and mocked his inability to end doctors' strikes, suggesting trade unions "[...] didn't just buy him for Christmas, they bought him for life".
The Conservative leader delivered her harshest blow when addressing Starmer's cabinet. "The Prime Minister is talking about non-entities. Has he looked at his Cabinet? A bunch of turkeys, they could fit right in at a Bernard Matthews factory [...]," she said. Badenoch concluded by suggesting Labour MPs want a new leader: "With a year like that, is it any surprise that all his MPs want for Christmas is a new leader?"
Starmer Hits Back
Starmer defended his government's employment record, citing 350,000 more people in work this year and the lowest inactivity rate for five years. He dismissed Badenoch's shadow cabinet as "non-entities" and took aim at Tory defections to Reform UK.
The Prime Minister targeted Reform UK with a Christmas-themed jab, referring to the recent jailing of Nathan Gill, the party's former Wales leader, for taking Russian bribes. "If mysterious men from the East appear bearing gifts, this time report it to the police," Starmer quipped, prompting laughter across the Commons. He also mocked Reform MP Sarah Pochin, saying she was "clearly dreaming of a White Christmas" – a reference to her controversial October comments about Black and Asian people in TV adverts.
Wales Poll Spells Disaster for Labour
A new YouGov poll delivered grim news for Labour, projecting the party could slump to just ten percent in Wales – its worst performance since the Senedd system was introduced 26 years ago. The survey showed Plaid Cymru leading with 33 percent and 39 projected seats, while Reform UK stood at 30 percent with 34 seats. Labour, which won 30 of 60 seats in 2021 with a 37 percent vote share, would secure only ten seats under the current polling.
A Plaid Cymru spokesman said the poll showed "[...] momentum is firmly with Plaid Cymru [...]". The spokesman added: "After years in power, Labour have given up on Wales. People are tired of broken promises and being taken for granted [...]." A Reform UK Wales spokesman called the upcoming Senedd election a "[...] two-horse race between Reform and Plaid".
The session took place as NHS resident doctors began a five-day strike and new figures showed inflation had dropped to 3.2 percent in November.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn asked Starmer how he intended to spend his "final one in Downing Street" – a jab the Prime Minister dismissed by noting Flynn's lack of interest in the Grangemouth industrial site.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
