Labour leader Keir Starmer was among the MPs sporting sheafs of wheat on their lapels as they faced off in the Commons at PMQs.
Despite eliciting memories of Theresa May’s naughtiest admissions, the decorations were in fact in aid of Back British Farming Day, which falls on 2 November this year.
Organised by the National Farmers’ Union for England and Wales (NFU), the event is aimed at celebrating the British farming sector and to encourage politicians to ensure it is prioritised during future trade deals.
While Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt sported a sheaf, prime minister Rishi Sunak did not.
The new PM was forced to admit that “not enough” asylum seeker claims were being processed by the government.
Asked about the number of claims being processed amid overcrowding at the Manston migrant centre in Kent, Mr Sunak told MPs that the “straightforward” answer was “not enough.”
Minutes before PMQs, Mr Sunak dramatically U-turned on his decision to skip Cop27, announcing he will now attend the global climate summit in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.
The PM had said he would stay in the UK to focus on the new government’s upcoming budget.
However, his decision not to attend led to international outcry, while pressure in the UK grew as King Charles announced a Cop27 reception at Buckingham Palace ahead of the conference, and also after former prime minister Boris Johnson said he was planning to attend the summit.
In parliament, Labour’s Ed Miliband, the shadow secretary for climate change and net zero, attacked the government’s record.
He said: “We’re way off track from meeting our climate targets. The net zero strategy was ruled unlawful. The PM sacks the Cop president, and all this when the UN is telling us we are heading for 2.8C of Global warming.
“Isn’t it the case Mr Speaker, that this year began with a prime minister which made grand promises which haven’t been fulfilled, and ends with one who has to be dragged kicking and screaming even to turn up?”
