Kemi Badenoch received a very public telling-off from Speaker Lindsay Hoyle during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) after she accused Keir Starmer of having “misled” the Commons.
It’s a serious allegation that can have major consequences—in some cases, it can even cost a minister their job. But that didn’t stop the new Tory leader from throwing it at Starmer while attempting to land a hit on Labour’s plans to strengthen workers’ rights.
Badenoch barely got the words out before Hoyle jumped in mid-sentence, swiftly shutting her down.
Speaker Hoyle: “No! No, no!”
Badenoch had barely started her attack when Hoyle stood up and cut her off:
“Sorry – we can’t accuse the prime minister of misleading the House –”
Cue immediate uproar from Tory MPs, who protested loudly. One could even be heard shouting, “He admitted it!”
But Hoyle wasn’t having any of it. Raising his hand, he firmly repeated:
“No! No, no. We can’t do it. I’m sure there are words you would prefer to use.”
With that, Badenoch was forced to change course, ditching the accusation and instead moving on to attack Labour’s Employment Bill.
Badenoch vs Starmer: the employment bill showdown
After being shut down, Badenoch attempted to reframe her attack, slamming Labour’s bill as “an unemployment bill” and accusing Starmer of not having a clue what’s going on.
“Mr Speaker, he claimed to have laid down an amendment which he had not made. He doesn’t know what is going on in here or out there,” she said.
She then challenged Starmer directly:
“Given these clauses, will he drop his bill and show that he is not anti-growth?”
But Starmer fired back, pointing out that the Tories have “consistently voted against any protections for working people”.
“Good work rights are consistent with growth—everyone knows that,” he added, shutting down Badenoch’s line of attack.
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