UK politics - live: Rayner and Dowden clash at fiery PMQs as Sunak branded a ‘pint-sized loser’
Labour’s deputy leader uses session to tackle the government on its housing record, accusing ministers of delaying justice on no-fault evictions
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Your support makes all the difference.Angela Rayner branded Rishi Sunak a “pint-sized loser” during a fiery session of Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
Labour’s deputy leader used the session to tackle the government on its housing record, accusing ministers of delaying justice on no-fault evictions in the rented sector.
She also accused Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, of having “stabbed” the Tories’ “biggest election winner” Boris Johnson in the back in order to get his “mate into No 10”.
“Has he finally realised that when he stabbed Boris Johnson in the back to get his mate into No 10 he was ditching their biggest election winner for a pint-sized loser?” she told MPs in the Commons, following reports that Mr Dowden was among senior Tories call for a summer election.
Elsewhere, the prime minister is on a visit to Germany. He held a joint press conference with chancellor Olfa Scholz, where he praised Germany for increasing defence spending.
70,000 job cuts will return Civil Service workforce to pre-2019 levels - Sunak
Rishi Sunak said the reduction in civil service headcount that accompanies his plan to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent by 2030 is a return to 2019 levels.
“Since then we’ve seen a very sifnigiant rise that isn’t sustainable or needed,” the PM said at a press conference in Berlin with German chancellor Olaf Scholz.
He said chancellor Jeremy Hunt had conducted a detailed exercise that “gives us the confidence that we can release the savings needed to fund our defence plan combined with an uplift in R&D spending which we had already budgeted for.”
But he also said: “We are making a choice to prioritise defence with both of those decisions and i believe that’s the right thing to do because whether we like it or not the world is more dangerous now than at any moment since the Cold War and it falls on leaders whether that’s Olaf, whether that’s me to do what’s necessary to keep our continent safe and stand up for our values.”
He called the plan the “biggest strengthening of our national defence in a generation” and said it was “fully funded” and based on Britain having a strong economy.
It is understood that two-thirds of the uplift in defence spending will be paid for by reducing the civil service headcount to pre-Covid levels.
The government has announced plans to cut the equivalent of 70,000 jobs – with £2.9bn of savings being redirected to the defence budget.
Sunak praises Germany for hiking defence spending
As we reported earlier this morning, Rishi Sunak is visiting Berlin to strengthen UK-Germany military ties.
At a joint press conference with German chancellor Olaf Scholz, the PM praised Germany for increasing its defence spending.
He said: “At this dangerous moment, the bond between our two nations is stronger than ever. We meet as a war rages on our continent and new threats are rising around the world.”
He congratulated Mr Scholz on his leadership and taking the “historic decision” to increase Germany’s defence spending.
“We stand here today together as the leading defence spenders in Europe,” he added.
He continued: “Together we have acted to meet this movement. We have taken greater responsibility for our collective security and today we are going even further, opening a new chapter in the security relationship between our two nations.”
Watch: Start of PMQs descends into chaos as Tory MP attacks Labour with long-winded ‘garden tax’ question
PMQs descends into chaos as Tory MP attacks Labour with long-winded tax question
Prime Minister’s Questions descended into chaos on Wednesday 24 April, as a Tory MP opened the session by attacking Labour with a long-winded question. Jonathan Gullis stood to speak for 85 seconds, before asking deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden if it was “time for Stoke-on-Trent Labour to axe the garden tax”. His softball question to Mr Dowden, who was standing in for Rishi Sunak, was met with loud jeers from the opposition. After Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle moved the session on, the deputy PM joked that “there was not much he could add” to Mr Gullis’s point.
Watch: Labour’s Angela Rayner calls Sunak a ‘pint-size loser’ as she claims Boris Johnson was Tory party’s ‘biggest election winner’
Labour’s Angela Rayner calls Rishi Sunak a ‘pint-size loser’ in Tory election dig
Angela Rayner labelled Rishi Sunak a “pint-sized loser” as she claimed Boris Johnson was the Conservative Party’s “biggest election winner” during a heated Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) exchange. The Labour deputy leader accused Oliver Dowden of urging the prime minister to call an early general election to minimise Tory losses on Wednesday (24 April). Ms Rayner said: “Has he finally realised that when he stabbed Boris Johnson in the back to get his mate into No.10 he was ditching their biggest election winner for a pint-sized loser?”
Dowden asked who caused ‘instablity’ in economy
Deputy prime Minister Oliver Dowden has been asked who he believes caused instability in the UK economy.
During PMQs, Labour MP Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) said: “Earlier on in the session (Mr Dowden) said that when the prime minister and chancellor took office they restored stability to the UK economy, who does he think caused the instability?”
Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden replied: “They might want to forget it but I remember the day the Conservatives came into office in 2010 and what was the note left on the desk of the chief secretary – ‘there is no money left’.
“That is the challenge that we have addressed through the prime minister and chancellor successively.”
Ministers urged to condemn reports of mass graves at Gaza hospitals
Ministers were urged to condemn reports of mass graves at bombed out hospitals in Gaza as war crimes.
Mhairi Black, the SNP’s deputy Westminster leader, told the Commons: “Two years ago when mass graves were discovered in Ukraine, this House united in condemnation and rightly treated this graves as evidence of war crimes, which Russia must be made to answer for.
“Yesterday, Palestinian officials uncovered two mass graves outside the bombed hospitals in Gaza. These graves also constitute as war crimes don’t they?”
Deputy prime Minister Oliver Dowden replied: “Well of course we would expect the democratic government of Israel to investigate any allegations of misconduct and that is exactly what they do, and it is exactly what the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister urge them to do.
“But I find it quite extraordinary that she seeks to draw parallels between the legitimate war of self defence of Israel and the conduct of Russia.”
Watch the exchange below:
Labour MP shares altered image of Sunak next to tall colleague after ‘pint-sized’ jibe
A Labour MP has shared a photoshopped image of Rishi Sunak next to one of his very tall colleagues after Angela Rayner called the prime minister “pint-sized”.
Christian Wakeford, who defected to Labour in 2022, shared on X an image of the PM next to Daniel Kawczynski MP , altered to exaggerate the height difference between the two.
Mr Kawczynski is 6ft 9 in while the PM is 5ft 6in.
Rayner accuses government of delaying justice on no-fault evictions
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has accused the government of delaying justice for those being served no-fault evictions.
During Deputy Prime Minister’s Questions, Ms Rayner said: “He clearly thought he could spend all week obsessing over my living arrangements and didn’t even bother to read-up on his own government’s Bill this afternoon.
“The reality is, he caved into vested interests on his backbenches and delayed justice for people like Natalie. This week the housing minister said there is no solid date for banning no fault evictions, the housing secretary (Michael Gove) now says it won’t happen before an election, so if he can give us a date, can he name it now?”
Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden replied: “I can name the date for (Ms Rayner), today. It’s today that this house will be voting on it. And I’m confident that in line with our manifesto we will deliver on that commitment.”
Rayner calls Sunak a ‘pint-sized loser’
Rayner claims Tories have replaced their best-ever election winner with a “pint-sized loser”.
She also accused deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden of stabbing Boris Johnson in the back.
She says that after 14 years the Tories have failed renters, failed lease-holders and failed mortgage-holders.
Tories have caved to vested interests - Rayner
Rayner claims Dowden has spent all week reading about her living arrangements but failed to get up to speed on no fault evictions.
Labour deputy claims her opposite number and his colleagues have “caved” to vested interests.
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