PMQs LIVE – Deputies face off as PM and Starmer absent for Boothroyd funeral
Today’s PMQs will see deputy PM Dominic Raab face off with Labour’s deputy Angela Rayner, as neither the PM or leader of the opposition are available.
What time is Prime Minister’s Questions today?
As usual, PMQs starts at midday from the House of Commons.
It’ll last around 30 minutes and can be watched via live stream on the UK Parliament YouTube channel.
Who will be at the dispatch box today?
Wednesday 29 March 2023 session will see the deputies step up to the dispatch boxes.
Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, will replace Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, for PMQs.
And Labour’s Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner, will take the place of party leader Sir Keir on the other side of the House.
Why is there no Rishi Sunak or Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs today?
Both the PM and Sir Keir are absent from Westminster as they are attending the funeral of the former speaker of the House of Commons Baroness Betty Boothroyd.
Lady Boothroyd, a former Labour MP, died last month at the age of 93.
She became the first woman to be elected speaker of the House of Commons in April 1992, ending more than 700 years of parliamentary tradition.
She stayed in the role until October 2000 and remains the only woman to have held this position.
She was born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, to mill worker parents and was an MP for 27 years before taking the seat as a Speaker. She then went on two sit in the House of Lords for a further two decades.
Current Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, described Lady Boothroyd as “one of a kind” after her death while Mr Sunak said she was “a remarkable woman who dedicated her life to politics”.
Mourners from across the political spectrum, including the Prime Minister and Sir Keir, are expected to gather to pay their respects at a funeral service near her home in Cambridgeshire.