Keir Starmer Accuses Kemi Badenoch Of 'Mother Of All U-Turns' Over Iran War
Keir Starmer accused Kemi Badenoch of “the mother of all U-turns” after she appeared to ditch her support for the war in Iran.
The prime minister also attacked Nigel Farage over Reform UK’s shifting stance on the conflict.
Both Badenoch and Farage last week condemned the PM for not allowing the US to use British bases to launch its attacks on Iran.
Since then, the conflict has sparked chaos across the Middle East, with the resulting spike in oil prices leading to fears of a global economic meltdown.
At prime minister’s questions, Badenoch pressed Starmer to ditch the planned increase in fuel duty, which is meant to happen in September.
The PM said the government was keeping that policy “under review” before attacking the Tory leader over the war.
He said: “As I said to the House last week, I took the decision that we should not join the initial US-Israeli offensive against Iran.
“The leader of the opposition attacked me for that decision relentlessly, she said that the UK should have joined the US and Israel in the initial offensive strikes, then yesterday, in the wake of the economic consequences, the leader of the opposition totally abandoned her position.”
He added: “That is the mother of all U-turns on the single most important decision the prime minister ever has to take – whether to commit the United Kingdom to war or not.”
Starmer also took aim at Reform, whose own position on the war has shifted after Farage said yesterday: “Let’s not get ourselves involved in another foreign war.”
The PM said: “After nine days of saying, ‘join the war, join the war, join the war’, yesterday, she says ‘I never said we should join, I haven’t said we should go in with the US’.
“I’ll tell you what’s happened, she and the Reform leader have been spooked, because they realise they have jumped into supporting a war without thinking through the consequences, and now she is furiously trying to backpedal.”
A Conservative spokesman said: “We have just seen a truly shameful display from the prime minister.
“Six times he was asked why he is raising fuel duty for families and businesses this year, six times he refused to answer, instead smearing the leader of the opposition and deliberately misrepresenting her position on Iran and our armed forces.
“Keir Starmer has shown he doesn’t care about drivers and doesn’t care about the cost of living. He has no answer on petrol prices, because he knows that raising fuel duty for the first time in 15 years is the clearest possible symbol of Labour’s total mismanagement of the economy.”