Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Taxes were the talk of the town at this week's Prime Minister's Questions, as Kemi Badenoch pressed Keir Starmer on Labour's manifesto commitment not to raise income tax, VAT or national insurance.

Starmer was adamant that the government would stick by its fiscal rules, but failed to commit to ruling out a possible wealth tax when pushed by the leader of the opposition.

The PM was also accused of caving in to resident doctors after five days of strikes were announced for the end of the month.

With French President Emmanuel Macron over for a UK state visit, the topic of immigration was also up for discussion, and Ed Davey urged the prime minister to secure a deal on small boats with his visiting counterpart.

Almost 20,000 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats in the first six months of 2025 - a 48% increase on the same period in 2024 - and Nigel Farage railed at the "anti-Brexit" Macron, urging a tough stance on immigration.

Just before PMQs ended, and Starmer returns to the negotiating table with Macron, the PM paid tribute to officers involved in the Southport attacks - while families gave evidence into a public inquiry at Liverpool Town Hall.

Next on the political agenda for the PM is a press conference with Macron tomorrow, but for now, we're ending our live coverage here.

You can read more about today's PMQs here.

What impact did EU returns scheme have on migrant numbers?published at 13:47 British Summer Time 9 July

13:47 BST 9 July

By Tamara Kovacevic

Calling on the prime minster to secure a new migrant returns agreement with France, Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: "The Conservative government badly undermined the security of our borders by ripping up a returns agreement that allowed us to send migrants back to Europe."

He was referring to a European Union scheme, known as the Dublin III Regulation, in which the UK participated until the end of Brexit transition in 2020.

The scheme determined which participating EU country was responsible for processing asylum claims. It considered factors such as family reunion and the country where applicants first tried to enter without permission.

The number of migrants who the UK returned to the EU under this scheme was never very high though.

According to the Home Office figures, external in 2015 – the year before the 2016 Brexit vote – 131 people were transferred to the UK from the EU and 510 went the other way.

And, since 2016, there were years in which more people arrived in the UK than left.

Between 2018 and 2020, the UK returned 577 people under the scheme. In the same period, there were 2,811 arrivals into the UK.

Image source, Reuters

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte have just arrived at Downing Street for talks with Starmer on the second day of their three-day state visit.

The visit was mentioned a few times during PMQs today - Ed Davey called for the UK government to ensure France helps prevent small boats crossing the Channel, while Reform's Nigel Farage urged the prime minister to have strong words with the French president on the issue.

Joshua Nevett
Reporting from the House of Commons

Earlier on, Kemi Badenoch drew attention to a report that would have made for uncomfortable reading for the chancellor and her officials in the Treasury.

Yesterday, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) - the UK’s independent economic forecaster - published its assessment of the current pressures on the public finances.

Overall, the OBR said the UK's public finances were in a “relatively vulnerable position” after a string of global economic shocks and recent U-turns on spending cuts.

The recent reversal of welfare changes, alongside restoring winter fuel payments for most claimants, have contributed to a continued rise in government debt, the report says.

As a result, if nothing changes, debt is projected to soar to 270% of national income by the early 2070s.

Hair-raising stuff for any chancellor to deal with - and Badenoch knows it means political difficulties for this PM.

Image source, House of Commons

• Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch began by pressing Keir Starmer on the possibility of tax rises, but Starmer insisted he would be sticking with his manifesto promise that there would be no change

• Badenoch cited a report that council tax bills are rising at the fastest rate for 20 years and suggested a wealth tax was on the horizon
• Our correspondent notes that he refused to rule a wealth tax out, but he insisted the Conservatives did not have the courage to say they would reverse the policies themselves
• Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey asked about special needs education (Send) provision, to which Starmer responded that the government was developing its own proposals
• Migration also came up. Davey pushed Starmer on securing a small boats deal with France, while Reform's Nigel Farage railed at "anti-Brexit" Emmanuel Macron during his UK visit

Starmer criticised over tax thresholds - what's the background?published at 12:54 British Summer Time 9 July

12:54 BST 9 July

Earlier on, Kemi Badenoch criticised the prime minister on tax, saying: “The whole House would have heard him fail to rule out freezing tax thresholds.”

The thresholds are the level of earnings at which people have to start paying tax or start paying higher rates of tax.

But these tax thresholds were frozen under previous Conservative governments.

At the Budget in March 2021, then-chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the thresholds for basic and higher rates of income tax would be frozen until 2025-26.

That was extended by former chancellor Jeremy Hunt to 2027-28.

The Office for Budget Responsibility, which carries out forecasts for the government, estimates that the freezes will see £38bn in extra taxes being raised in 2028-29. , external

Joshua Nevett
Reporting from the House of Commons

Calls to raise taxes on the wealthy to boost the UK’s finances have long been made by elements of the Labour Party.

But recently, as the chancellor faces some stark spending choices after U-turns on welfare and winter fuel payments for pensioners, the volume of those calls has increased.

And they’re coming from all kinds of directions.

For example at the weekend Lord Kinnock, a former Labour leader, suggested imposing a 2% tax on assets valued above £10m would bring in up to £11bn a year.

It’s an enticing idea for some Labour MPs, but there’s certainly no consensus on whether it would work.

Supporters of a wealth tax say it can reverse inequality and beat populism. But critics say estimates of how much it raises are overinflated and international examples (see Spain) haven’t raised much revenue.

Sensing political vulnerability on Starmer’s left flank, Badenoch tried to flush out Starmer’s position on a wealth tax.

For now, Starmer won’t go there. “We don’t need lessons” from the Tories was his response.

Just before PMQs ended, the MP for Southport, Labour's Patrick Hurley, asked the PM if he would pay tribute to three officers nominated for a bravery award for the way they responded to the attack in his constituency last summer.

The attack happened on 29 July when a 17-year-old murdered three young girls and injured others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

Starmer says the thoughts of the whole House are with all those affected by the "terrible incident", and thanks all of those involved in the response.

He says the police officers "ran towards danger to protect young lives", and praises their bravery and professionalism.

• Families whose children were injured in the attack have been giving evidence to a public inquiry into it - you can follow our live page on that here.

Image source, House of Commons

PMQs has just wrapped, but stay with us as we bring you any outstanding lines and analysis from our reporters in the Commons.

Image source, House of Commons

Joshua Nevett
Reporting from the House of Commons

Green MP Adrian Ramsay brings up the issue of a wealth tax again.

He asks the PM if he’s considering such a tax on the “ultra wealthy”, rather than spending cuts that impact “disabled people”.

Starmer accuses the Greens of making more than £80bn worth of “unfunded spending commitments” in their last election manifesto.

“We can’t just tax our way to growth,” Starmer says.

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from the House of Commons

MPs on all sides erupt in laughter as Nigel Farage gets up to ask a question.

James McMurdock - who has quit the Reform whip following allegations about business loans he took out under the Covid support scheme - shook his head indignantly as the PM was speaking.

He is sitting next to another former Reform MP Rupert Lowe, on the independents bench.

McMurdock has said his business dealings are compliant with the rules but he had asked to be suspended from the parliamentary party as a "precautionary measure".

Leila Nathoo
Reporting from the House of Commons

Nigel Farage is being drowned out by jeers while asking his question - we can hardly hear it up in the gallery.

You can watch the moment in the video below.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage rises - to jeers from a number of MPs - and says the main reason the UK "wisely" voted for Brexit is because "we wanted to take back control of our borders".

"Because they were lied to," an MP can be heard shouting.

Farage says that the country demands "that you say to the French president... we will not accept undocumented males across the English Channel and that you are not dictated to by an increasingly arrogant, anti-Brexit French president", with more shouts heard throughout his question.

Starmer responds by saying the government is "fixing the mess that we inherited" and working with other countries to stop people crossing the Channel, saying they are "serious answers to serious problems".

He says Farage's answer for 10 years has been to "break everything and claim that's how you fix things".

• For context: Starmer will be meeting French president Emmanuel Macron straight after PMQs, with the pair looking to strike a deal on tackling small boat Channel crossings

Lib Dem leader sceptical over French side of small boats planpublished at 12:29 British Summer Time 9 July

12:29 BST 9 July

Joshua Nevett
Reporting from the House of Commons

Before coming to power, Starmer talked up his plan to “smash the gangs” as his primary solution to curb small boat crossings from France.

It was his answer to former-PM Rishi Sunak’s “stop the boats”, but it has equally made him a hostage to fortune.

The gangs remain unsmashed and the crossings continue.

Almost 20,000 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats in the first six months of 2025 - a 48% increase on the same period in 2024.

That’s the backdrop to the French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit which is happening right now and his talks about migration with Starmer this week.

Clearly, the Lib Dem leader is sceptical of what the French are prepared to do to stop the crossings.

He says any further funding for the French should be conditional on a removals agreement.

• Read more: How many people cross the Channel in small boats?

Davey says he hopes that government secures a deal with France on small boats.

He asks that any money sent to France should be conditional on it doing its part on its side of the Channel.

Starmer says the UK will only give funding that will deliver on their priorities, adding that they are sharing more intelligence than the government before them did.

He adds that he will be discussing it with Macron today and tomorrow.

A collegiate approach from the Lib Dem leader on children with special needspublished at 12:26 British Summer Time 9 July

12:26 BST 9 July

Leila Nathoo
Reporting from the House of Commons

A collegiate approach from the Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey who says he doesn’t want to see a "welfare-style mess" when it comes to reforms affecting children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send).

Davey says his party has 72 votes to give the PM if the reforms are right.

This will be the next major test of party management for Labour as they attempt to tackle this tricky area.

But it’s clearly an important one for the PM - he says it’s the issue raised more than anything else in the House.

Image source, House of Commons

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey is up next. Earlier today, he sent a letter to Starmer calling for reform of special needs education (Send) provision.

Davey, who is a carer for his teenage son with special needs, asks Starmer if he will read their five recommendations published today and work with the Lib Dems to fix the system.

Starmer goes after the Conservatives, who both he and Davey accuse of causing the issues with Send provision in schools.

He says every week "people raise this issue with me, more than anything else", adding that "everyone knows system is broken".

Starmer says the government are developing their own proposals, adding that he expects Davey to welcome that.

Image source, House of Commons

Badenoch hits back. She says Starmer has been in power for a year, and all they see is him "congratulating himself" on doing a "fantastic job", but "nobody out there believes it".

She says the Tories left him with the fastest growing economy, and that on his watch, taxes, unemployment and inflation are up.

Starmer rattles off more achievements from his first year in office.

PM refuses to rule out introducing wealth taxpublished at 12:20 British Summer Time 9 July

12:20 BST 9 July

Leila Nathoo
Political correspondent

Kemi Badenoch is trying to paint Labour as the party of higher taxes - circling around various taxes in her questions to Keir Starmer.

The PM rejects suggestions that council tax is rocketing but refuses to rule out introducing a wealth tax, after Kemi Badenoch point blank asks him to.

Image source, House of Commons

Badenoch says "this is a mess of his own making", and suggests councils are having to raise rates because the government put up their National Insurance contributions.

The Budget has "created a domino effect which he cannot now control", she says, adding "you cannot tax your way to growth".

She accuses Starmer of "flirting" with calls for a wealth tax and asking him to rule it out.

Starmer says the Budget stabilised the economy, and says he does not need lessons from the Conservatives on the issue, attacking their record.