PMQs today: PM faces Starmer after Tory election humiliation

PM Rishi Sunak will face Sir Keir Starmer in this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions – the first PMQs since the 2023 local elections, which saw the Conservative Party record significant losses.

Labour made substantial gains winning 643 councillors and taking control of 22 local authorities, while the Conservatives lost over 1000 seats and 48 councils. The Liberal Democrats and Greens also had successful elections.

What time is PMQs?

The latest PMQs starts at it’s usual time of midday and will last roughly half an hour.

You can watch PMQs live on the UK Parliament YouTube channel.

What to expect from PMQs?

Sir Keir will aim to keep the pressure on the PM and position Labour as the party best suited to lead the country in the next general election. Sir Keir will be encouraged from the voters who have returned to Labour in certain regions – after they had voted heavily for Brexit and Boris Johnson. Sir Keir will seek to transform reassurance into hope and promises a reforming government focused on improving the lives of working people.

For the prime minister, the focus will be on pledging to work tirelessly to deliver on the nation’s priorities and focusing on some of the positives from the election – a Labour win at the next general election is not a guarantee, with Lib Dems picking up a fair few gains from the Tory losses. It seems the British public isn’t entirely sold on Labour just yet. The PM will use this to his advantage, and likely blame the poor Tory results on the pandemic and Ukraine war.