Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

On the eve of local elections, PMQs was dominated by a clash over the grooming gangs scandal.

Tomorrow, voters in parts of the country will put crosses in boxes to elect local councillors and mayors - our explainer sets out who will be voting and where.

But today, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch used her questions to grill Keir Starmer on what she says is a need for a "full, national inquiry" into grooming gangs - we covered the latest on this issue a little earlier.

Starmer said a national inquiry had already taken place - in 2022 - and accused the Tories of failing to implement its recommendations.

The prime minister then returned conversation in the Commons to tomorrow's elections. Questions from Labour, Reform and Lib Dem backbencher MPs followed suit, with issues including anti-social behaviour, water outages and immigration all raised.

Tory MPs Mark Francois and Bernard Jenkin, though, took the opportunity to look ahead to VE Day celebrations next week.

Before that, there's the small matter of the ballot boxes - where our political editor Chris Mason predicts anger and indifference will collide in an unpredictable vote.

That's all from us covering this week's PMQs, thanks for following along.

Local elections were well and truly on the agenda in the Commons today, as MPs raised topics of concern including sewage leaks and anti-social behaviour. Tomorrow, these issues will be on the minds of voters as they head to the ballot boxes in some parts of England - here's a brief reminder of all you need to know about local elections.

Voters in 23 councils are set to elect councillors and mayors. The contested seats are:

• 14 county councils: Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Devon, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire
• 8 unitary authorities: Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, County Durham, North Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Shropshire, West Northamptonshire and Wiltshire
• 1 metropolitan district: Doncaster
• Council elections will also be taking place in the Isles of Scilly

There will be six mayoral elections in the West of England, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, North Tyneside, Doncaster, Hull and East Yorkshire and - for the first time - in Greater Lincolnshire.

Meanwhile in Runcorn and Helsby, there will be a by-election after the seat became vacant following the resignation of former Labour MP Mike Amesbury.

• The BBC has taken a look at everything else you need to know about the local elections

Have 10,000 young men arrived in small boats this year?published at 13:56 British Summer Time

13:56 BST

By Gerry Georgieva

The leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage said during PMQs that "so far this year 10,000 young, undocumented males have illegally crossed the English Channel".

It’s true that 10,358 irregular migrants have arrived by small boats between 1 January and 28 April, external.

However, we don’t know how many of those were young men.

Detailed information of the sex and age of the migrants that arrived in the first quarter of the year will be revealed in late May.

In the last quarter of 2024, however, 88% of the 11,572 migrants that came by small boats were male and in previous periods at least four out of five such migrants were men.

About half of those men were aged 24 and under, and fewer than one in 10 were over the age of 40, external.

Are NHS waiting lists falling?published at 13:45 British Summer Time

13:45 BST

By Tamara Kovacevic

During PMQs a little earlier, one of the things Keir Starmer said was: "We have waiting lists down for six months in a row now."

He was talking about the NHS waiting lists in England.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland manage their own health systems.

It's true that the overall number of waits for non-emergency treatment in England has gone down for six months in a row.

In August 2024, the total number of waits was 7.64 million. In February 2025, it fell to 7.40 million, according to the latest NHS England figures, external.

Questions today from the majority of backbench MPs (those who do not occupy a government position and are not a party spokesperson), unsurprisingly, stayed close to the local elections:

• Labour's Sam Carling asked about local policing and anti-social behaviour, while Deirdre Costigan - also a Labour MP - raised the issue of fly-tipping
• The problems of water outages and sewage dumping were raised by Lib Dem Liz Jarvis
• Nigel Farage, of the Reform party, meanwhile raised the issue of 10,000 young, undocumented men entering the UK - saying there were hundreds in areas such as Runcorn, where there's a by-election tomorrow; he called it a "national emergency"

Conservative MPs, meanwhile, focused on another issue - next week's VE Day celebrations:

• Bernard Jenkin asked Starmer to lend his support to Parliament's official event, at which he said he would be singing
• And Mark Francois asked if Starmer would support a memorial he's helping to set up in honour of Dame Vera Lynn, a wartime singer

Following PMQs, Defence Secretary John Healey is now at the despatch box making a statement on the UK's first strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen since Donald Trump returned to the White House.

"We did so in collective self-defence and to uphold the freedom of navigation," he says.

• For context: The US and UK have been attacking Yemen in response to strikes carried out by the Houthis on shipping in the Red Sea since November 2023. If you're interested in reading more about this development, read our full news story.

We have a question from Mark Francois, the Tory MP who is campaigning to get a national memorial to honour Dame Vera Lynn.

The wartime singer, known as the Forces Sweetheart, died in 2020.

He asks if the PM would lend his support and "meet again" for a personal briefing.

The play on words from Dame Vera's iconic song We'll Meet Again is met with laughter in the Commons and Starmer congratulates Francois for his work promoting the campaign.

Labour MP Deirdre Costigan raises the issue of fly-tipping.

The MP asks the prime minister what the government is doing to help councils tackle the issue after an announcement that fly-tippers could face up to five years in prison.

Starmer responds that under the last government there were a million incidents of fly-tipping.

Meanwhile, under the Tory-led Northumberland Council, Starmer suggests that incidents of rubbish dumping are up 76%.

Calls for grooming gangs national inquiry unlikely to go awaypublished at 12:46 British Summer Time

12:46 BST

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

The prime minister’s approach to those calling for a national inquiry on grooming gangs is to accuse them of playing politics.

He insists a series of local investigations and implementing the recommendations of the wider Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse will deliver quicker results and make a bigger difference to victims.

The problem for him is there are plenty of Labour figures on his own side who agree a full national inquiry should be held.

The Conservatives feel this is an area of vulnerability for the government. It’s the second time this week they’ve raised it in the Commons.

However much Starmer thinks a national inquiry is the wrong approach, the calls for one are unlikely to go away.

Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch's questions this week largely focused on the grooming gangs scandal.

In case you missed it, here's how things unfolded:

• Badenoch began the session by saying the safeguarding minister admitted to a "cover-up" of the child grooming gang scandal
• Starmer criticised Badenoch for failing to address the issue when she was in government
• The Tory leader repeatedly called for a national inquiry into the scandal, saying it has been months since she asked for one
• Starmer says the Tories did not implement the recommendations when they were in power
• The PM brought up the coming local elections, saying they'll be a verdict on Badenoch's record

For context: Elections will be held tomorrow for 23 councils and six mayors in England, with around a third of the country's electors eligible to vote. On the same day there's also a Westminster by-election in the Cheshire seat of Runcorn and Helsby. Use our tool to find out whether there is an election near you, who the candidates are and where you can vote.

Tory MP Bernard Jenkin asks Starmer to lend his support to Parliament's VE Day celebrations taking place next week where he and others are singing in the presence of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent.

Starmer wishes him luck and says such celebrations are important, adding he looks forward to paying his own tributes during VE Day.

Lib Dem MP Paul Kohler asks about anti-social behaviour on public transport, such as people playing videos and loud music without headphones.

He asks if the PM will back the Lib Dem plan to persuade people to plug in their headphones and maybe even persuade some people to take their feet off seats?

Starmer replies that anti-social behaviour is an important issue.

It is not low level - it affects people's sense of safety, he says.

That is why we are putting £1.2bn into local policing, he adds.

Chris Mason
Political editor

The backdrop to today’s exchanges are tomorrow’s local elections in parts of England and the race to be the next MP for Runcorn and Helsby near Liverpool.

Barely any contributor today can resist giving them a mention - the prime minister, the Conservative leader, the Lib Dem Leader and the Reform leader— they are all at it.

Parliamentary candidates, mayoral candidates and local authority track records are all getting a Commons airing today.

Labour's Sam Carling is up next, raising the issue of local policing, saying voters taking part in the local elections tomorrow want crime and anti-social behaviour dealt with.

Starmer says his government is working to recruit extra police officers, PCSOs and special constables and criticises the Tories for "decimating neighbourhood police".

• For context: Elections will be held tomorrow for 23 councils and six mayors in England, with around a third of the country's electors eligible to vote. On the same day there's also a Westminster by-election in the Cheshire seat of Runcorn and Helsby. Use our tool to find out whether there is an election near you, who the candidates are and where you can vote.

The Lib Dems have another question, as MP Liz Jarvis to ask about water.

She describes how her constituents in Eastleigh have faced issues including water outages and sewage dumping, yet are facing rising bills at the same time.

She asks what Starmer is doing to ensure that water companies and the regulator Ofwat are held to account for this.

The prime minister says the Conservatives should apologise for letting "record sewage" into the country's waterways.

He also describes some measures set out in the government's water bill, including banning bonus payments for water bosses and prison sentences for concealment of sewage spills.

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the House of Commons

Farage laughs and throws his hands in the air as Keir Starmer claims he has recruited former PM Liz Truss.

Like Badenoch, Farage gave the Tony Blair net zero row a miss to focus on an issue that might have more meaning on the local election and by-election doorstep. In his case, asylum seekers.

Reform leader Nigel Farage says 10,000 young undocumented males have illegally crossed the Channel and gained entry into the UK this year.

Some are from cultures "alien" to ours, he says.

They are being housed in hotels and private homes which is costing millions, he says.

Isn't it time to declare a national emergency, he asks.

Starmer replies that his government is pushing through a borders bill to deal with people smuggling. He condemns Farage for failing to vote in favour of that bill.

Starmer also suggests Farage has recruited former PM Liz Truss as an adviser, causing MPs on both sides to jeer.

Badenoch uses all her questions on grooming inquiry - why?published at 12:27 British Summer Time

12:27 BST

Chris Mason
Political editor

Very interesting to hear the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch use all her questions this week to repeatedly drill into her demands for a national public inquiry into child sexual exploitation.

It allowed the Tories to attempt to prosecute an argument about the competence or otherwise of Labour councils, the day before the local elections in parts of England.

The prime minister sought to lean on his actions as director of public prosecutions - a job he did before becoming an MP.

The government is sticking to its view that a national inquiry isn’t necessary; the Conservatives are sticking to theirs that it is essential.

Davey's second question focuses on laws around mental capacity assessments and the Lib Dem's plans to change them, detailing a case study one of his colleagues is working on.

Davey asks if the prime minister will support the Lib Dem proposals.

Starmer thanks Davey for raising the case and says he will look into what else he can do.

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey moves onto transatlantic issues when he congratulates Mark Carney on his victory in the Canadian election.

He then asks Keir Starmer whether the government will give parliament a vote on any trade deal he agrees with US President Donald Trump.

Starmer responds that any deal will be "the right deal for our country", and adds that if it is secured, it will follow standard procedure.

Up again, Davey says he's "disappointed" not to have heard a "yes or no" on the matter.