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Kemi Badenoch has attacked Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his MPs’ positions on Donald Trump and urged to invite the incoming president to address parliament.
An energised Badenoch seized on Trump’s election victory to haul Sir Keir over foreign secretary David Lammy’s previous comments that Trump was “neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath”.
But the Prime Minister dodged the opposition leader’s demand to apologise, assuring his relationship with Trump was strong.
Badenoch earlier congratulated Donald Trump on his historic election win, saying she looked to both countries working together to confront global challenges.
But Labour is divided over the impending presidency, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s congratulations and celebration of close US ties coming up against comments from former Labour frontbencher Emily Thornberry, who has labelled Trump a racist and a predator.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said many people would be fearful of what a second Trump presidency would mean for democracy and women’s rights. “The lesson of today is that progress is not inevitable. But asserting our progressive values is more important than ever,” he said.
Ed Davey accuses Kemi Badenoch of cheerleading for Trump
Lib Dems leader Ed Davey has accused Tory leader Kemi Badenoch of “cheerleading” for Donald Trump during PMQs and claimed it shows the opposition is out-of-touch with British values.
Ms Badenoch’s first outing as Conservatives leader in PMQs saw her demand prime minister Keir Starmer apologise for previous comments by his foreign secretary, David Lammy, who once called Trump a neo-Nazi sympathiser, and urge him to invite the president-elect to speak at parliament.
She also said Trump was right to urge other NATO countries, including the UK, to increase their defence spending.
Sir Ed, who earlier characterised Trump’s victory as a “dark, dark day” took to social media platform X after the debate to make his accusations against the new Tory leader.
“Kemi Badenoch’s cheerleading of Donald Trump at PMQs shows the Conservatives are totally out of touch with our values We should be standing up for human rights, the rule of law and international security – not rolling out the red carpet for Trump,” he posted.
Prime Minister would welcome Trump UK visit: Downing Street
Prime Minister Keir Starmer would welcome Donald Trump visiting the UK, Downing Street says, but has stressed parliamentary invitations are up to the Speaker of the House of Commons.
Briefing reporters after a firey debate in PMQs that centred on Trump’s historic election victory, a spokesperson for the prime minister said that questions about the house were for the speaker, “but clearly the prime minister would of course welcome a visit from President-elect Trump to the UK in the future.”
Earlier, Sir Keir dodged demands from Kemi Badenoch to invite to Trump to address parliament on his next visit to the UK. Ms Badenoch called for the prime minister to show that “he and his government can be more than student politicians” and ask the Commons speaker to extend the invitation to the president elect, who swept to victory in the US election overnight.
The spokesperson also assured that foreign secretary David Lammy’s position was not in jeopardy following comments in the past branding Trump a neo-Nazi sympathiser”.
Sir Keir dodges a political apology and a promise to invite Trump to the UK
Returning to the main news from PMQs, where our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin and political correspondent Millie Cooke have reported in greater depth on Keir Starmer ducking Kemi Badenoch’s blows from across the chamber following Donald Trump’s election victory.
David Lammy made the comment in an article when he was a backbench MP in 2018. A year before he also tweeted: “Yes, if Trump comes to the UK I will be out protesting on the streets. He is a racist KKK and Nazi sympathiser.”
Mr Lammy has sought to build links with the Trump campaign since becoming foreign secretary, but the election result has shone a new spotlight on his comments, raising questions about his ability to work with the next US president.
Sir Keir also dodged demands from Kemi Badenoch to invite to Trump to address parliament on his next visit to the UK.
Ms Badenoch called for the prime minister to show that “he and his government can be more than student politicians” and ask the Commons speaker to extend the invitation to the president elect, who swept to victory in the US election overnight.
In response, the prime minister accused Ms Badenoch of “giving a masterclass in student politics”.
“We live in a more volatile world than we’ve lived in for recent decades”, he said.
Kemi Badenoch says Tories will reverse tax raid on farms
While Labour’s relationship with an incoming Trump administration occupied the main line of attack in Tory leader Kemi Badenoch’s first PMQs facing off against the Prime Minister, she departed from the diplomatic theme to challenge Keir Starmer over the planned 20 per cent inheritance tax on farms, which has caused an uproar across the industry.
Ms Badenoch vowed in the chamber that her party would reverse the changes announced in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget last week, and urged the government to “reassure” farmers over their futures.
“What does he say to farmers who are facing uncertainty about their futures as a result of the increased taxes announced by the Chancellor?” she asked during PMQs.
Sir Keir responded: “I’m glad she’s raised farmers. Because the budget last week put £5 billion over the next two years into farming. That’s the single biggest increase, unlike the £300 million which was underspent under the last government.
“But when it comes to inheritance, the vast vast majority of farmers will be unaffected, as she well knows; as they well know.”
From April 2026, a tax of 20 per cent would be raised on the value of inherited farming assets above £1 million, triggering an uproar from farming community and an attack point for Conservative MPs.
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson ordered to apologise to parliament after swearing at security officer
The Reform UK MP allegedly told the guard “f*** off, everyone opens the door to me, you are the only one” when he was told he needed to have his pass checked at the gates to the Westminster estate.
A complaint about the incident on 3 November was upheld by parliament’s standards commissioner.
Mr Anderson initially appealed against the finding to the Independent Expert Panel, but the panel dismissed his case.
Braverman welcomes Trump victory and suggests he could force Chagos U-turn
Earlier, Conservative MP Suella Braverman welcomed Donald Trump’s election victory and said the Republican politician could force the Labour government to U-turn over the Chagos Islands.
It comes afterThe Independent revealed Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been attempting to persuade Trump to overturn the controversial deal that handed sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius mid fears the cluster, which commands a crucial strategic location in the Indian Ocean, may now be subject to influence from the Chinese government.
The former home secretary told Times Radio: “We’ve got to keep taking the fight to Labour, whether it’s on foreign policy and global security, interestingly on their surrender deal with Mauritius and the Chagos Islands. I wonder whether Trump will withdraw support for that, forcing a U-turn on the part of this Labour government.”
Welcoming Trump’s victory, she said: “I think it’s been an extraordinary campaign. Donald Trump nearly got murdered during the campaign and I think it does remind us that there is a real need for strong democracies around the. But I am overall relieved that we have someone who will stand up for peace and security.”
How a Trump presidency could blow the British economy out of the water
There are growing fears the UK’s trade with its biggest single export market in the US would be hit hard.
It is now dawning on UK ministers that Trump’s threat to impose 60 per cent tariffs on imports from China and 10 or 20 per cent on those from everywhere else including the UK, could inflict huge damage on the British economy.
Britain could also suffer collateral damage in a US-China trade war, given the impact on supply chains.
The Treasury is putting a brave face on it, hinting the government would try to talk Trump out of damaging a natural partner and reminding him a global trade war would be bad for everyone.
Some officials hope Trump’s threat is a bargaining chip to get China to reduce its state subsidies; they point out he didn’t do all he said he was going to do in his first term.
But the Department for Business and Trade is alarmed and under growing pressure from business leaders to act – possibly by imposing retaliatory tariffs on American imports.
A recap on Kemi Badenoch’s first PMQs performance as Tory leader
Kemi Bedenoch used her first time at the dispatch box as opposition leader during PMQs to launch a multi-pronged attack at Keir Starmer and his ministers over the UK government’s response to the impending Trump presidency.
It was a firey, energetic display from the new leader of the Conservatives. Here are the key points from the session, including what Ms Badenoch challenged Sir Keir on, and how the Prime Minister responded:
– Sir Keir began by congratulating Donaldf Trump on his election victory, and extended a welcome to Badenoch as Tory leader. Ms Badenoch thanked Sir Keir and echoed his sentiments about Trump.
– She then used her next question to ask whether the Prime Minister would apologise for foreign Secretary David Lammy’s 2018 remarks about Trump being a “neo-Nazi sympathiser”. Sir Keir ducked the question, instead saying when he had met Trump recently they discussed a number of issues of global significance.
– Ms Badenoch then accused Sir Keir of failing to distance himself from Mr Lammy’s comments, and challenged him to invite Donald Trump to speak in parliament. Sir Keir accused Ms Badenoch of playing student politics and repeated previous lines on the importance of UK-US relations.
– She said Donald Trump was right to argue the UK needed to increase its defence spending, urging the government to boost it to 2.5 per cent of GDP, which Sir Keir replied he had already committed to doing.
Watch: Awkward moment Badenoch confronts Lammy over Neo-Nazi Trump comment
Mr Lammy, has previously compared Trump to Hitler and called for his state visit to be canceled during his last presidency.
In her first PMQs as Tory leader on Wednesday (6 November), Ms Badenoch asked Mr Lammy: “The prime minister and the foreign secretary met him in September. Did the foreign secretary take that opportunity to apologise for making derogatory and scatological references, including, and I quote, ‘Trump is not only a woman-hating Neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath, he is also a profound threat to the international order’?”
Analysis: Ed Davey saying what many people are thinking
Sir Ed Davey appears to be the only politician with the courage to stand up to what Donald Trump stands for.
With much of the western world in mourning about the result in the USA and the fears over the Ukraine war very real, Sir Ed stands alone in talking about these threats publicly.
Many will feel uncomfortable about the way the Labour prime minister is now trying to cosy up t Trump – even if he has little choice. This may be the first time Davey has sounded like a serious opposition leader since his Lib Dems won 72 seats in July.
