Summary

  • Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is going head to head with Labour leader Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions

  • Facing MPs less than two hours after his flagship asylum plan was ruled unlawful, he says he is pursuing a new treaty with Rwanda to try and send migrants there

  • It's the first PMQs since Sunak reshuffled his top team by sacking Suella Braverman as home secretary - she subsequently launched a scathing attack on him

  • Starmer criticises the appointment of David Cameron as foreign secretary and asks if he will declare any interests related to China

  • Sunak responds that like every other minister, Cameron will go through "the normal process" and defends the former PM's appointment

  • This morning's ruling against plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is a major blow to one of Sunak's five pledges - namely to "stop the boats"

  1. Sunak says he sides with Brits on migrationpublished at 12:17 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Rishi SunakImage source, House of Commons

    Sunak parries the attack, criticising Starmer's track record on migration issues.

    The PM says he's "siding with the British people", whereas the Labour leader "never once voted for stricter asylum rules" in the Commons.

  2. PM has wasted time on Rwanda gimmick - Starmerpublished at 12:16 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Keir Starmer says the prime minister promised to stop the boats this year - referring to five pledges Sunak made in January.

    "Today is 15 November - he has wasted all of this time on a gimmick and now he is absolutely nowhere," he adds.

    "Will he admit he has failed to deliver on his promise?" he asks.

  3. Sunak attacks Starmer for opposing small boats planspublished at 12:15 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Responding to Starmer's criticism of the government's immigration plans, Sunak says "he talks about taking small boat crossings seriously, he's opposed every single measure that we have taken".

    "He doesn't want to stop the boats, he wants to welcome more of them."

  4. PM must accept Plan A has failed on asylum plan - Starmerpublished at 12:14 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Sir Keir StarmerImage source, House of Commons

    Starmer persists on the Rwanda topic - pointing to the size of the UK's asylum backlog and daily expenditure for hotel bills for asylum seekers.

    The Labour leader says Sunak must accept "plan A has failed" and that he must now go "back to the drawing board".

    He goes on to ask if his opponent will start treating the issue of small boat crossings "with the seriousness they deserve".

  5. Will PM apologise for wasting taxpayers' cash on Rwanda, Starmer askspublished at 12:12 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Starmer now turns to this morning's decision by the Supreme Court, which has ruled that the government's plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful.

    He asks if Sunak will apologise for "wasting £140m of taxpayers' cash" on the idea.

  6. 'Bit rich' to take lectures from you, Sunak tells Starmerpublished at 12:11 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Rishi SunakImage source, House of Commons

    Rishi Sunak says it is a "bit rich" to take lectures on security from Keir Starmer, who he says wanted to make Jeremy Corbyn prime minister.

  7. Are you ashamed of appointing Braverman, Starmer askspublished at 12:10 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Sir Keir StarmerImage source, House of Commons

    Starmer now addresses the sacking of Suella Braverman as home secretary.

    Is the prime minister "ashamed" of the fact he put someone "so totally unfit for office" in the job, he asks.

  8. Cameron will help 'help Britain navigate uncertain world' - Sunakpublished at 12:09 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak responds to Starmer, saying the former PM David Cameron "will help Britain navigate an uncertain world in challenging times".

    "Of course, like every other government minister, he will go through the normal process with the independent adviser."

  9. Starmer asks about Cameron's role in Chinese investment fundpublished at 12:08 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Keir StarmerImage source, House of Commons

    Labour leader Keir Starmer begins by saying the PM "obviously thinks so little of his own MPs" that he has to peel David Cameron away from his shepherd's hut to be foreign secretary.

    He says Lord Cameron previously held a role in a Chinese investment fund which a report, external said may have been engineered by the Chinese state.

    When will he instruct the foreign secretary to give a full disclosure of his work for Chinese interests, he asks.

  10. Sunak defends appointing Cameronpublished at 12:08 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    SNP MP Richard Thomson asks the PM whether former Prime Minister David Cameron is a suitable candidate for foreign secretary, citing his relationship with controversial finance business, Greensill Capital.

    Rishi Sunak says he is "delighted" Cameron is re-joining government as he brings "unrivalled experience and relationships across the world".

    He adds that Cameron will do "a fantastic job championing British interests".

  11. Sunak says fall in inflation 'a strong step forwards'published at 12:04 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Rishi SunakImage source, House of COmmons

    Sunak opens the session by welcoming today’s fall in the inflation rate to 4.6%. “There remains much to do but there is a strong step forwards,” he says.

    He also acknowledges this morning's verdict from the Supreme Court that his Rwanda asylum plan was unlawful.

    But he says the court declared “the principle” of removing asylum seekers to a safe third country to be lawful.

    He says the government is working already on a new treaty with Rwanda.

  12. PMQs kicks offpublished at 12:00 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is at the despatch box and PMQs is getting under way - he begins by referencing the latest inflation figures and the Rwanda court ruling.

    Stay with us for text coverage of this week's Prime Minister's Questions - and watch live by pressing the play button at the top of the page.

  13. Inflation falls as government says it met its pledge earlypublished at 11:57 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    A family looking at a billImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Inflation has now halved from its peak of 11.1% in October 2022

    One topic that Sunak might want to bring up in today’s PMQ’s is inflation, after new figures this morning showed it had fallen sharply in October to its lowest rate in two years – 4.6%.

    The government says it means it has met its pledge to halve inflation by the end of the year - but that pledge uses a three-month average which we don't have yet.

    Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said earlier that the government had played an "important role" in bringing inflation down by being "disciplined on spending".

    But despite the fall, the UK is still some way off meeting the Bank of England’s 2% inflation target. Costs for energy and food are still above where they were two years ago, the Office for National Statistics said, and prices are still rising.

    There is a limit to how much credit ministers can take for the fall as energy prices settle - read more from our economics correspondent on that here.

    Labour said the fall was some relief – but that "now is not the time for Conservative ministers to be popping champagne corks".

  14. Sunak’s new cabinet - who’s in and who’s out?published at 11:50 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    David CameronImage source, EPA
    Image caption,

    David Cameron - who is no longer an MP - has accepted a peerage to take the foreign secretary job

    On Monday, Sunak gave his top team a big shake-up, sparked by him sacking his Home Secretary Suella Braverman:

    • Home secretary - Braverman was sacked, and foreign secretary James Cleverly was brought in
    • Foreign secretary - David Cameron made a shock comeback to government, replacing Cleverly
    • Environment secretary - Therese Coffey was sacked, and replaced by Steve Barclay, who had been health secretary
    • Health secretary - Victoria Atkins is brought in to replace Barclay

    In other changes:

    • Laura Trott became chief secretary to the Treasury, the second-most senior post there
    • John Glen became the new paymaster general - who essentially acts as a minister without portfolio but attends cabinet. He replaced Jeremy Quin, who decided to leave government on his own terms
    • GB News presenter Esther McVey returns as a minister without portfolio who will attend cabinet
  15. Sunak ‘considering next steps’ after Rwanda plan court blowpublished at 11:42 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Demonstrators hold placards while protesting against the government's policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, outside the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in London, Britain, 15 November 2023.Image source, EPA
    Image caption,

    Demonstrators hold placards outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning

    One of the topics likely to come up a lot in today’s PMQ’s is the government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda - which suffered a major blow this morning when the UK Supreme Court ruled against it.

    In a statement earlier, Sunak said he will "now consider next steps".

    "This was not the outcome we wanted, but we have spent the last few months planning for all eventualities and we remain completely committed to stopping the boats," he said. Stopping small boats bringing migrants to the UK is one of Sunak’s five priorities.

    "Crucially, the Supreme Court - like the Court of Appeal and the High Court before it - has confirmed that the principle of sending illegal migrants to a safe third country for processing is lawful. This confirms the government’s clear view from the outset."

    Sunak is expected to hold a press conference in Downing Street this afternoon.

  16. Sunak leaves Downing Streetpublished at 11:31 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    We've just spotted the prime minister leaving No 10 and making the short journey down Whitehall to Parliament.

    Sunak leaving Downing StreetImage source, Reuters
  17. Sunak to face Starmer after losing Rwanda casepublished at 11:30 Greenwich Mean Time 15 November 2023

    Dulcie Lee
    Live reporter

    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing the Commons a little less than two hours after his flagship immigration policy was shot down by the Supreme Court.

    The court ruled that plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda were unlawful, in a major blow to one of Sunak’s five pledges - his commitment to “stop the boats”.

    Meanwhile, there’s better news for the PM this morning, as new data shows inflation fell sharply in October to 4.6%.

    The government says this means they’ve met another of Sunak’s five pledges - to halve inflation by the end of the year. But that pledge is based on a three-month average, which we don’t yet know.

    This tumultuous week for the prime minister also saw him sack former Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Monday as part of a reshuffle, which included the surprise appointment of PM David Cameron as foreign secretary.

    Braverman hit back yesterday in a blistering letter to the PM, saying he had repeatedly failed on key policies.

    Expect all this, and plenty more, to feature in PMQs at 12:00. Stay with us.