“Economic Vandals and Fantasists!’ – Starmer Blasts Tories During Economic Crisis in Heated PMQs Debate”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer fiercely criticized the Conservative Party during a heated Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), accusing them of leaving a “£22 billion black hole” in public finances and branding them “economic vandals and fantasists.”
Under pressure from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who stood in for the absent Prime Minister, Starmer was grilled on Labour’s recent budget and the controversial hike in employers’ National Insurance Contributions.
Badenoch pressed Starmer to rule out further tax rises in 2025, asking:
“Will he now rule out any new tax rises this year?”
Starmer retorted:
“We took the right and difficult decisions in the budget—decisions they did not have the courage to take, which left us in the mess in the first place. We’ve put in place tough measures, and unlike them, we have an ironclad commitment to fiscal rules.”
Badenoch accused Labour of presiding over an economic strategy that she claimed led to rising borrowing costs and declining business confidence.
“One business owner in Chesterfield told me their business might not survive another year due to this government’s policies. Why should anyone trust a word he says over businesses who repeatedly warn that his budget means fewer jobs, lower growth, and higher borrowing costs?”
Starmer hit back, highlighting the Conservatives’ alleged mishandling of the economy:
“They’re back to the magic money tree—offering benefits without saying how to pay for them. They haven’t changed. They are still economic vandals and fantasists. Imagine where we’d be if they were still in charge.”
Starmer could not resist a jab at former Prime Minister Liz Truss, who last week sent him a cease-and-desist letter over his remarks about her economic policies.
“I got a letter this week from a Tory voter in a Labour seat. I hope they don’t mind me saying who it was—it was Liz Truss. She was complaining that saying she crashed the economy was damaging her reputation. But it wasn’t the words that damaged her reputation—it was crashing the economy that did.”
Truss, who lost her South West Suffolk seat in the 2024 General Election, had described commentary around her infamous 2022 mini-budget as “false and defamatory.”
Meanwhile, Chancellor Rachel Reeves faced scrutiny over market instability, which saw 30-year gilt yields hit 27-year highs and the pound fall to a 15-month low against the dollar. Reeves was also criticized for traveling to China on a trade mission rather than addressing concerns in Parliament.
However, Reeves received a slight reprieve as December’s inflation rate dipped unexpectedly to 2.5% from 2.6% in November. Reeves acknowledged global economic uncertainties but reaffirmed Labour’s commitment to bold growth measures:
“Leadership is not about ducking challenges—it’s about rising to them. The economic headwinds remind us we must go further and faster in our plan to kickstart economic growth.”
