Kemi Badenoch accuses Keir Starmer of breaking promises amid the Waspi women compensation row in the final PMQs of 2024. A senior Labour MP is among those critical – and one MP calls for a vote on the matter.
Wednesday 18 December 2024 13:29, UK
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Nigel Farage was next to ask a question of Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty about the Chagos Islands deal.
As you’ll remember, the deal as it stands means the UK will hand over sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius, except for the largest of the islands, Diego Garcia, which will remain under British control for at least the next 99 years.
The island is home to a strategic military base used by the UK and the US.
The Reform UK leader told MPs that he has just returned from “a very full Mar-a Lago” where he spoke to senior members of president-elect Donald Trump’s team.
“Let me assure you, there is very deep disquiet amongst all of them as to what this may mean for the long-term future of Diego Garcia,” he said.
He went on to say that Trump’s team “can’t understand why we would surrender sovereignty over these islands on an advisory judgement from a very obscure court”.
It is unclear if Mr Farage was referring to the UN’s top court or the International Court of Justice, both of which have ruled against the UK in this case.
He continued: “If we respect the sovereignty of Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands on the basis it’s what the people want, can we have a referendum of all the eligible Chagossians, and let them decide what the future sovereignty of the Chagos Islands is?”
The minister replied that the decision is between the UK and Mauritius, and insisted that “the interests of the Chagossians were absolutely at the heart of this agreement”.
“The honourable gentleman continues to speculate, but with the greatest respect, he does not know the detail of what is agreed, he doesn’t know the detail that the national security apparatus of the United States has considered.
“And I am confident that he would have his concerns allayed when he sees the detail of this deal.”
Amid reports that the new Mauritian prime minister wants to renegotiate the Chagos Islands deal with the Labour government, the Tories have tabled an urgent question on the status of it.
As you’ll remember, the deal as it stands means the UK will hand over sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius, except for the largest of the islands, Diego Garcia, which will remain under British control for at least the next 99 years.
The island is home to a strategic military base used by the UK and the US.
Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told MPs that the government welcomes yesterday’s “reiteration by prime minister Ramgoolan of his willingness to conclude a deal with the UK”.
He went on: “We are confident the agreement is in both sides’ shared interests, and we will continue working with the new Mauritian government to finalise the deal.”
Mr Doughty said that this statement follows “his commitment to completing the negotiations following his election in an exchange of letters with the prime minister”.
Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel then rose to say that she just saw the person she wanted to answer the question, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, “leg it from the House”.
She went on: “In a world of increasing danger and change and uncertainty, why are they so keen to surrender this strategic asset”.
She asked why, if the deal is so good, ministers are being “so secretive about the detail”, if the deal for the military base will be able to be extended after 99 years, if the UK and US will still have full autonomy on the base, what safeguards there will be against China’s influence in the region, how much the deal will cost, and “why Labour is putting our security at risk”.
Mr Doughty said the deal protects UK security by protecting the base against legal uncertainty “well into the next century”.
He went on: “She asked me would we be able to extend the lease? The answer is yes.
“Would we continue to have the autonomy or our operations for those allies? Absolutely yes.
“Are there safeguard in place to prevent foreign forces or others on the islands? Absolutely, yes.”
Sir Keir Starmer can breathe a little easier now as the final PMQs session of 2024 has concluded.
He faces one more hurdle before Christmas, and that is questioning from the liaison committee in parliament. But that’s tomorrow’s problem.
In the meanwhile, if you missed PMQs, scroll down to catch up on all the key moment, and analysis from our political correspondent Rob Powell.
An urgent question is now under way on the Chagos Islands deal in the House of Commons. We’ll bring you the latest as it happen.
Labour’s Diane Abbott rises next to say that the “Waspi women fought one of the most sustained and passionate campaigns for justice that I can remember”, and says Labour promised them that.
She says: “I understand the issue about the cost, but does the prime minister really understand how let down Waspi women feel today?”
Sir Keir Starmer replies: “I do understand the concern, of course I do.
“I set out the history. But the research is clear that 90% of those impacted did know about the change.
“In those circumstances, the taxpayer simply can’t afford the burden of tens of billions of pounds of compensation.
Merseyside Independent MP Ian Byrne has spoken for many left-wing members by pushing the prime minister on the Waspi women.
He called for members to be given a vote on the policy.
That won’t happen.
But MPs are clearly willing to speak out about this.
Expect the New Year to bring attempts to force a vote on the issue, putting many Labour MPs in a tough spot of picking between staying loyal to the government or potentially alienating many of their own constituents.
The SNP’s Dave Doogan rises to his feet and says the PM pledged to cut energy bills by £300, but they have since gone up rather than down.
He says the PM had said he would protect the winter fuel payment, but has since “stripped it off our pensioners”.
“And he lined up for many photos with Waspi women, saying he’d have their backs, and he’s just betrayed them in the most scandalous way possible,” he says.
“This is now the defining characteristic of this one-trick phoney prime minister, who says one thing and does another.”
He notes that the SNP has overtaken Labour in the polls in Scotland, and asks if he understands why “the people of these islands, especially those of us in Scotland, treat him with such contempt”.
Sir Keir Starmer hits back at Mr Doogan, saying SNP MPs “used to ask those questions from this sort of area”, pointing to the front benches where the third-largest party sits.
The SNP suffered a disastrous general election and was overtaken by the Lib Dems as the third-largest party.
“He’s not carping from right up there,” the PM says. “We can hardly hear him!”
Off-road bikes were a “complete nuisance” under the last government, says Sir Keir Starmer after Jo White MP asks what action is being taken to tackle them.
Our home affairs reporter Henry Vaughan recently revealed crimes involving e-bikes and e-scooters have soared by more than 730% in the last five years – you can read more about that here.
The prime minister says they got “completely out of control” under the Conservatives and his government is introducing new respect orders to “crack down” on off-road bikes.
He says it is also strengthening police powers to deal with them and delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood police to “keep control of our streets”.
Since becoming the third party of the Commons once again, the Lib Dems have been noticeable for the lack of spikiness in some of their interventions.
It seems the days of Lib Dem HQ instantly calling for a recall of parliament or resignation have gone.
Instead, Sir Ed Davey is getting stuck into policy and furthering his image of a wholesome if somewhat cringeworthy public figure.
That was on show in his questions in the chamber today, as Sir Ed talked about his long-standing campaign around carers and plugged his Christmas charity single as well.
The calculation is that people in many newly held constituencies would rather have a constructive third party than one solely focused on knocking chunks out of the government.
But it’s also born of an awareness that their biggest electoral risk is voters swinging back to the Tories at the next election.
In other words, if there is a choice of target for the Lib Dems – it will always be the Conservatives over Labour.
Once again, this has turned into a bit of a scattergun approach from Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.
After briefly mentioning the big political issue of the day – Waspi women – she moved on to the impact of the budget on businesses and then funding for hospices.
She tried to stitch all this together into a “winter hardship” narrative but then suddenly switched focus to “Brexit freedoms” instead.
The Tory leader ended by asking the prime minister to “tell the truth”.
That is the attack line that she could have pursued from the start.
But instead, this was another pick ‘n’ mix performance from Ms Badenoch that may leave some Tory MPs a touch exasperated going into the festive break.
Plaid Cymru MP Ben Lake is next to ask a question.
He says that in 2022, Sir Keir Starmer supported calls for “fair and fast compensation” for the Waspi women, but rejected those same calls yesterday.
“Is this what the prime minister meant when he promised to lead a government of change?”
In response, Sir Keir explains that between 2005 and 2007, there was a 28-month delay in sending letters to women born in the 1950s informing them about changes to the state pension age.
“That was unacceptable, and it was right that the government apologised for that,” he says.
The PM then says it was “unacceptable” in 2011 for then-chancellor George Osborne to accelerate those changes with little notice.
He goes on to say that research shows that “90% of those impacted knew about the changes that were taking place.
“And I’m afraid to say the taxpayer simply can’t afford the tens of billions of pounds in compensation when the evidence does show that 90% of those impacted did know about it,” he says.
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