The page was brought to you by Marita Moloney, Nathan Williams, Emily McGarvey, Tara Mewawalla, Emily Atkinson, Doug Falkner, Kate Whannel, Arryn Moy and Ali Abbas Ahmadi.
Labour rejects Sunak's take on green investment pledge
During PMQs, Rishi Sunak went after Labour's green policies, saying that the party's £28bn green investment pledge would require it to raise taxes.
Speaking after PMQs, a Labour spokesman said the PM's comment was "just a lie" and "our plans do not require us to raise taxes on working people as he suggested".
The spokesman said it was "not correct" that it will cost £28 billion to deliver Labour's clean power plans for 2030, and clarified that it is a cumulative figure "that includes the money the government is already spending".
Sunak has support of most Tory MPs, says spokesperson
Harry Farley
Political correspondent
Downing Street has insisted most
Conservative MPs support Rishi Sunak’s leadership after a former cabinet
minister called for the prime minister to be ousted.
Rishi Sunak’s political spokesperson said the question
of whether Sir Simon Clarke would face disciplinary action was a “matter for
the chief whip”.
Speaking after Prime Minister’s Questions, she said Sir
Simon was “entitled to his views”.
“We recognise Simon has views that are different to
ours. He is entitled to express them,” she told reporters.
“Clearly lots of other Conservative MPs disagree with
them [Sir Simon and Andrea Jenkyns]. The prime minister is just focused on the
job - getting on with the priorities he has set out for the country.”
She added: “On the big issues Conservatives support the
direction we’re going in terms of lowering taxes where it is responsible to do
so. They support tough action on illegal action. They want to see action on
waiting list.”
Asked whether Rishi Sunak was facing a “plot”, his
political press spokesperson said: “This is just one MP.”
Councils set to get extra funding to tackle cash crisis
England's local authorities are poised to receive a funding boost from the government following recent warnings of further bankruptcies.
Single-tier and county councils are set to share an additional £500 million for children's and adult social care, while lower-tier district councils are expected to get extra sums of between £30-40m.
An announcement on the boost to funding could come this afternoon.
In the meantime, you can read the full story here.
Watch: Leaders clash on economic plans and policies
Video content
Video caption: PMQs: Leaders clash on economic plans and policiesPMQs: Leaders clash on economic plans and policies
During PMQs, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer attacked the “constant farcical incompetence” of the government the PM led, citing policies over steel workers and free nursery schemes.
Rishi Sunak said Labour had “no ideas and absolutely no plan", while his government had seen wages rise, while debt and inflation were falling.
BBC Verify
Robert Cuffe
Has poverty fallen?
Rishi Sunak told MPs that there are "1.7 million fewer people in poverty than in 2010".
This is correct, according to one measure of poverty.
There are two main measurements used by the government: absolute poverty and relative poverty.
Sunak is talking about absolute poverty, which is how many people have less than 60% of the average level of income from 2011, after taking account of housing costs and adjusting for rising prices.
And, yes, this fell from 13.1 million people in 2010 to 11.4 million people in 2022.
But you can also look at relative poverty, which is people who have less than 60% of the average income in the current year.
On that measure, poverty has gone up from 13.5 million in 2010 to 14.4 million in 2022.
That is a rise of almost one million, although it has gone up less quickly than the population.
Watch: PM 'absolutely committed' to Mail service obligations
Video content
Video caption: PM 'absolutely committed' to Royal Mail service obligationsPM 'absolutely committed' to Royal Mail service obligations
Rishi Sunak said the government remained committed to keeping the mail delivery service so it "remains as it is.”
At PMQs, he was asked by SNP MP Richard Thomson for a commitment there would be no reduction in Royal Mail’s delivery services, amid reports they could be cut back to three time a week.
BBC Verify
Daniel Wainwright
How much could demand for childcare rise?
Rishi Sunak was asked about the expansion of childcare in England and whether parents will get what they’ve been promised.
We recently analysed a major government survey of families to estimate the likely demand from parents once more of them become eligible for funded places with nurseries and childminders.
We found demand in England could go up by about 15% - equivalent to having 100,000 more children per week in full-time childcare – by the time the scheme is meant to be rolled out fully in September 2025.
With providers facing financial strains and difficulty recruiting staff, there were warnings it could be anything from “challenging” to “wholly undeliverable in practice”.
The aim is that working parents of pre-school children will be able to claim 30 hours a week of funded childcare over 38 weeks of the year. The rollout starts in April, when working parents of two-year-olds can get 15 hours a week worth of funded care.
Watch: Starmer claims Sunak speaks ‘so much nonsense’
Video content
Video caption: Starmer claims Sunak speaks ‘so much nonsense’Starmer claims Sunak speaks ‘so much nonsense’
Here's a look back at an exchange between Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during PMQs, where they attacked each other's views on a variety of issues.
Sunak was asked by the Labour leader why his own MPs considered him an "obstacle to recovery" and were giving up on him.
The key moments from PMQs
A lot of ground was covered in today's PMQs so whether you're just joining or need a recap, here's a look at the key moments:
For his opening gambit, Keir Starmer quipped that the more Tory MPs "slag off" the PM behind his back, the "more they cheer in here", referencing reports of infighting
In response, Rishi Sunak said Starmer "doesn't get British values", and accused him of previously calling for the abolition of the monarchy
The two leaders pressed each other on childcare, tax rises, jobs cuts for steel workers and inflation, among other issues
SNP leader Stephen Flynn asked the Commons if it would show the same "urgency and intent" over an unarmed man shot in Gaza as it did for the Post Office scandal
We also heard from Tory MP Jonathan Lord, who demanded an apology for his constituent Seema Misra - a former sub-postmaster wrongly convicted by the Post Office
Towards the end, Tory MP Miriam Cates asked if Sunak agreed it was time to consider banning social media and smartphones for under-16s
BBC Verify
Anthony Reuben
What is happening to debt?
The prime minister told MPs
that debt is “on track to be reduced”.
Figures out earlier this week
showed that government debt in December 2023 stood at 97.7% of the size of the
economy, which was up 1.9 percentage points on December 2022.
What the prime minister is
saying is that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which comes up with
forecasts for the government, is predicting that debt will be falling in five
years.
That’s true, but yesterday
the head of the OBR Richard Hughes told a House of Lords committee that there
were problems with that, particularly the lack of detail about government
spending plans after 2025.
Urgent question on weather resilience
UK ParliamentCopyright: UK Parliament
We are now moving on to an urgent question from Pat McFadden, shadow chancellor for the duchy of Lancaster, on the country's resilience in light of recent extreme weather events - including Storm Isha and Jocelyn earlier this week.
Responding for the Cabinet Office, minister Alex Burghart begins by saying how sorry the government was to hear of four people losing their lives during Storm Isha in the UK and Ireland.
He also praises emergency and utility workers.
Although Storm Isha had the potential to be "extremely destructive", he says the vast majority of the transport and power infrastructure stood up to it.
He adds the impacts from Storm Jocelyn were less than feared in England.
Sunak says government intervention protected steel jobs
Labour MP Sarah Champion asks the PM about the recent lay offs in the steel plant in Port Talbot.
She says her constituents in Rotherham - another steel-centred community - don't want to see public money used to make British workers redundant. She asks if the PM will change his "destructive course" and safeguard the UK steel industry's long-term future.
Sunak responds by saying he understands this is an anxious time for steel workers in south Wales, adding that he is committed to working with the steel industry to secure a "positive and sustainable future."
He says the government has provided workers at Port Talbot with a large support package, and has worked with Tata Steel to actually protect more than 5,000 jobs. The alternative, he says, would have left everyone out of work and the closure of the plant altogether.
That's brings an end to Prime Minister's Questions this week.
Angry looks from Labour frontbench after 'blood on hands' comment
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent
MPs on the Labour frontbench looked angry to say the
least as Tahir Ali, the MP for Birmingham Hall Green, claimed that Rishi Sunak
has "blood on his hands" because of the government’s position on the
Israel-Hamas conflict.
That is not Labour’s official position.
Sir Keir Starmer will fear this undermines his claim -
made earlier during the session - to have "changed my party".
The Labour leader stared straight ahead, motionless, as
Sunak hit back to raucous cheers: "That’s the face of the changed Labour
Party."
Labour MP tells Sunak to end UK's arms trade with Israel
Video content
Video caption: PM has 'blood of thousands of innocent people on his hands'PM has 'blood of thousands of innocent people on his hands'
Pressing further about the conflict in Gaza, Labour's Tahir Ali says it is time the PM admits he has the "bloods of thousands of innocent people on his hands".
He urges him to commit to an immediate ceasefire and end UK's arms trade with Israel.
"That's the face of the changed Labour party," Sunak replies.
Should UK consider banning social media for under-16s?
UK ParliamentCopyright: UK Parliament
Tory MP Miriam Cates brings up the case of a 14-year-old girl who took her own life following "horrific" social media bullying, including on TikTok and Snapchat.
Since 2010, she says, across the English-speaking world there has been a "marked increase" in poor teenage mental health, teenage suicide attempts and children addicted to pornography.
Does Sunak agree that it is time to consider banning social media and perhaps smartphones for under-16s?
The prime minister says Cates is right to highlight the impact of what happens online to children.
Sunak says the government's Online Safety Act tackles this and protects children from harmful content, adding that Ofcom are developing guidance for how those platforms will meet their duties and that it will be able to impose fines of up to 10% of global turnover on the firms if they do not meet these standards.
PM says UK is tripling aid to Gaza this year
UK ParliamentCopyright: UK Parliament
The SNP's Anum Qaisar asks about famine and starvation in Gaza, saying this is created by Israel's ongoing siege.
She says "starvation used as a weapon of war is a war crime".
The prime minister responds by saying he is "incredibly concerned" by the impact on citizens of the conflict in Gaza and says this is why the UK is tripling its aid to the region for this financial year.
Theresa May raises concerns about type 1 diabetes
UK ParliamentCopyright: UK Parliament
Conservative MP and former prime minister Theresa May brings up a report on type 1 diabetes and disordered eating - which, she says, is "life shortening, life threatening and can lead to death".
Will the government look seriously on the recommendations put forward in the report, she asks, which would improve lives, save lives, and save money for the NHS?
Rishi Sunak responds by saying the health secretary will "of course" consider the report. He adds that the NHS has pilot projects to support people with this condition, and is expanding them around the country.
May was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2013, and chaired a parliamentary inquiry into the life-threatening consequences of disordered eating with the disease.
'Thames Water are a shambles,' says Lib Dem MP
Next up is the Liberal Democrat's Layla Moran, the MP for Oxford West and Abington.
Moran says: "Thames Water are a shambles", noting recent flooding and her constituents' stories of waste backing up into their homes.
She says rather than offering people a "rebate for their shoddy service", bills are "being put up by 60%".
Moran asks the PM to explain why her constituents are being asked to "foot the bill".
Sunak lists actions the government has taken to pursue water companies.
PM should apologise for widespread destitution - Labour MP
Labour's Alex Norris says the number of people using food banks is increasing and asks the prime minister to apologise for the daily chaos in government which is leaving widespread destitution unaddressed.
Sunak says the government has delivered lower inflation and tax cuts. "That's the right way to go about supporting people," he says.
Live Reporting
Edited by Nathan Williams and Emily McGarvey
All times stated are UK
Get involved
- Simon Clarke's call for Rishi Sunak to go sparks backlash
- Rishi Sunak's five promises: What progress has he made?
- Why Tory rows are back on display
Video caption: PMQs: Leaders clash on economic plans and policiesPMQs: Leaders clash on economic plans and policies Video caption: PM 'absolutely committed' to Royal Mail service obligationsPM 'absolutely committed' to Royal Mail service obligations - You can read more here.
Video caption: Starmer claims Sunak speaks ‘so much nonsense’Starmer claims Sunak speaks ‘so much nonsense’ -
For his opening gambit, Keir Starmer quipped that the more Tory MPs "slag off" the PM behind his back, the "more they cheer in here", referencing reports of infighting
-
In response, Rishi Sunak said Starmer "doesn't get British values", and accused him of previously calling for the abolition of the monarchy
-
The two leaders pressed each other on childcare, tax rises, jobs cuts for steel workers and inflation, among other issues
-
SNP leader Stephen Flynn asked the Commons if it would show the same "urgency and intent" over an unarmed man shot in Gaza as it did for the Post Office scandal
-
We also heard from Tory MP Jonathan Lord, who demanded an apology for his constituent Seema Misra - a former sub-postmaster wrongly convicted by the Post Office
-
Towards the end, Tory MP Miriam Cates asked if Sunak agreed it was time to consider banning social media and smartphones for under-16s
UK ParliamentCopyright: UK Parliament 
Video caption: PM has 'blood of thousands of innocent people on his hands'PM has 'blood of thousands of innocent people on his hands' 
UK ParliamentCopyright: UK Parliament 
UK ParliamentCopyright: UK Parliament 
UK ParliamentCopyright: UK Parliament
Latest PostThank you for joining us
That concludes our coverage of this week's Prime Minister's Questions.
To learn more about the issues put to the PM during today's session, you can read more here:
The page was brought to you by Marita Moloney, Nathan Williams, Emily McGarvey, Tara Mewawalla, Emily Atkinson, Doug Falkner, Kate Whannel, Arryn Moy and Ali Abbas Ahmadi.
Labour rejects Sunak's take on green investment pledge
During PMQs, Rishi Sunak went after Labour's green policies, saying that the party's £28bn green investment pledge would require it to raise taxes.
Speaking after PMQs, a Labour spokesman said the PM's comment was "just a lie" and "our plans do not require us to raise taxes on working people as he suggested".
The spokesman said it was "not correct" that it will cost £28 billion to deliver Labour's clean power plans for 2030, and clarified that it is a cumulative figure "that includes the money the government is already spending".
Sunak has support of most Tory MPs, says spokesperson
Harry Farley
Political correspondent
Downing Street has insisted most Conservative MPs support Rishi Sunak’s leadership after a former cabinet minister called for the prime minister to be ousted.
Rishi Sunak’s political spokesperson said the question of whether Sir Simon Clarke would face disciplinary action was a “matter for the chief whip”.
Speaking after Prime Minister’s Questions, she said Sir Simon was “entitled to his views”.
“We recognise Simon has views that are different to ours. He is entitled to express them,” she told reporters.
“Clearly lots of other Conservative MPs disagree with them [Sir Simon and Andrea Jenkyns]. The prime minister is just focused on the job - getting on with the priorities he has set out for the country.”
She added: “On the big issues Conservatives support the direction we’re going in terms of lowering taxes where it is responsible to do so. They support tough action on illegal action. They want to see action on waiting list.”
Asked whether Rishi Sunak was facing a “plot”, his political press spokesperson said: “This is just one MP.”
Councils set to get extra funding to tackle cash crisis
England's local authorities are poised to receive a funding boost from the government following recent warnings of further bankruptcies.
Single-tier and county councils are set to share an additional £500 million for children's and adult social care, while lower-tier district councils are expected to get extra sums of between £30-40m.
An announcement on the boost to funding could come this afternoon.
Earlier this week, more than 40 Tory MPs signed a letter urging Rishi Sunak to provide more money to avoid big cuts in local services.
In the meantime, you can read the full story here.
Watch: Leaders clash on economic plans and policies
Video content
During PMQs, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer attacked the “constant farcical incompetence” of the government the PM led, citing policies over steel workers and free nursery schemes.
Rishi Sunak said Labour had “no ideas and absolutely no plan", while his government had seen wages rise, while debt and inflation were falling.
BBC Verify
Robert Cuffe
Has poverty fallen?
Rishi Sunak told MPs that there are "1.7 million fewer people in poverty than in 2010".
This is correct, according to one measure of poverty.
There are two main measurements used by the government: absolute poverty and relative poverty.
Sunak is talking about absolute poverty, which is how many people have less than 60% of the average level of income from 2011, after taking account of housing costs and adjusting for rising prices.
And, yes, this fell from 13.1 million people in 2010 to 11.4 million people in 2022.
But you can also look at relative poverty, which is people who have less than 60% of the average income in the current year.
On that measure, poverty has gone up from 13.5 million in 2010 to 14.4 million in 2022.
That is a rise of almost one million, although it has gone up less quickly than the population.
Watch: PM 'absolutely committed' to Mail service obligations
Video content
Rishi Sunak said the government remained committed to keeping the mail delivery service so it "remains as it is.”
At PMQs, he was asked by SNP MP Richard Thomson for a commitment there would be no reduction in Royal Mail’s delivery services, amid reports they could be cut back to three time a week.
BBC Verify
Daniel Wainwright
How much could demand for childcare rise?
Rishi Sunak was asked about the expansion of childcare in England and whether parents will get what they’ve been promised.
We recently analysed a major government survey of families to estimate the likely demand from parents once more of them become eligible for funded places with nurseries and childminders.
We found demand in England could go up by about 15% - equivalent to having 100,000 more children per week in full-time childcare – by the time the scheme is meant to be rolled out fully in September 2025.
With providers facing financial strains and difficulty recruiting staff, there were warnings it could be anything from “challenging” to “wholly undeliverable in practice”.
The aim is that working parents of pre-school children will be able to claim 30 hours a week of funded childcare over 38 weeks of the year. The rollout starts in April, when working parents of two-year-olds can get 15 hours a week worth of funded care.
Watch: Starmer claims Sunak speaks ‘so much nonsense’
Video content
Here's a look back at an exchange between Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during PMQs, where they attacked each other's views on a variety of issues.
Sunak was asked by the Labour leader why his own MPs considered him an "obstacle to recovery" and were giving up on him.
The key moments from PMQs
A lot of ground was covered in today's PMQs so whether you're just joining or need a recap, here's a look at the key moments:
BBC Verify
Anthony Reuben
What is happening to debt?
The prime minister told MPs that debt is “on track to be reduced”.
He has changed his line on debt having been criticised by the statistics regulator for previously claiming that debt was falling.
Figures out earlier this week showed that government debt in December 2023 stood at 97.7% of the size of the economy, which was up 1.9 percentage points on December 2022.
What the prime minister is saying is that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which comes up with forecasts for the government, is predicting that debt will be falling in five years.
That’s true, but yesterday the head of the OBR Richard Hughes told a House of Lords committee that there were problems with that, particularly the lack of detail about government spending plans after 2025.
Urgent question on weather resilience
We are now moving on to an urgent question from Pat McFadden, shadow chancellor for the duchy of Lancaster, on the country's resilience in light of recent extreme weather events - including Storm Isha and Jocelyn earlier this week.
Responding for the Cabinet Office, minister Alex Burghart begins by saying how sorry the government was to hear of four people losing their lives during Storm Isha in the UK and Ireland.
He also praises emergency and utility workers.
Although Storm Isha had the potential to be "extremely destructive", he says the vast majority of the transport and power infrastructure stood up to it.
He adds the impacts from Storm Jocelyn were less than feared in England.
Sunak says government intervention protected steel jobs
Labour MP Sarah Champion asks the PM about the recent lay offs in the steel plant in Port Talbot.
She says her constituents in Rotherham - another steel-centred community - don't want to see public money used to make British workers redundant. She asks if the PM will change his "destructive course" and safeguard the UK steel industry's long-term future.
Sunak responds by saying he understands this is an anxious time for steel workers in south Wales, adding that he is committed to working with the steel industry to secure a "positive and sustainable future."
He says the government has provided workers at Port Talbot with a large support package, and has worked with Tata Steel to actually protect more than 5,000 jobs. The alternative, he says, would have left everyone out of work and the closure of the plant altogether.
That's brings an end to Prime Minister's Questions this week.
Angry looks from Labour frontbench after 'blood on hands' comment
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent
MPs on the Labour frontbench looked angry to say the least as Tahir Ali, the MP for Birmingham Hall Green, claimed that Rishi Sunak has "blood on his hands" because of the government’s position on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
That is not Labour’s official position.
Sir Keir Starmer will fear this undermines his claim - made earlier during the session - to have "changed my party".
The Labour leader stared straight ahead, motionless, as Sunak hit back to raucous cheers: "That’s the face of the changed Labour Party."
Labour MP tells Sunak to end UK's arms trade with Israel
Video content
Pressing further about the conflict in Gaza, Labour's Tahir Ali says it is time the PM admits he has the "bloods of thousands of innocent people on his hands".
He urges him to commit to an immediate ceasefire and end UK's arms trade with Israel.
"That's the face of the changed Labour party," Sunak replies.
Should UK consider banning social media for under-16s?
Tory MP Miriam Cates brings up the case of a 14-year-old girl who took her own life following "horrific" social media bullying, including on TikTok and Snapchat.
Since 2010, she says, across the English-speaking world there has been a "marked increase" in poor teenage mental health, teenage suicide attempts and children addicted to pornography.
Does Sunak agree that it is time to consider banning social media and perhaps smartphones for under-16s?
The prime minister says Cates is right to highlight the impact of what happens online to children.
Sunak says the government's Online Safety Act tackles this and protects children from harmful content, adding that Ofcom are developing guidance for how those platforms will meet their duties and that it will be able to impose fines of up to 10% of global turnover on the firms if they do not meet these standards.
PM says UK is tripling aid to Gaza this year
The SNP's Anum Qaisar asks about famine and starvation in Gaza, saying this is created by Israel's ongoing siege.
She says "starvation used as a weapon of war is a war crime".
The prime minister responds by saying he is "incredibly concerned" by the impact on citizens of the conflict in Gaza and says this is why the UK is tripling its aid to the region for this financial year.
Theresa May raises concerns about type 1 diabetes
Conservative MP and former prime minister Theresa May brings up a report on type 1 diabetes and disordered eating - which, she says, is "life shortening, life threatening and can lead to death".
Will the government look seriously on the recommendations put forward in the report, she asks, which would improve lives, save lives, and save money for the NHS?
Rishi Sunak responds by saying the health secretary will "of course" consider the report. He adds that the NHS has pilot projects to support people with this condition, and is expanding them around the country.
May was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2013, and chaired a parliamentary inquiry into the life-threatening consequences of disordered eating with the disease.
'Thames Water are a shambles,' says Lib Dem MP
Next up is the Liberal Democrat's Layla Moran, the MP for Oxford West and Abington.
Moran says: "Thames Water are a shambles", noting recent flooding and her constituents' stories of waste backing up into their homes.
She says rather than offering people a "rebate for their shoddy service", bills are "being put up by 60%".
Moran asks the PM to explain why her constituents are being asked to "foot the bill".
Sunak lists actions the government has taken to pursue water companies.
PM should apologise for widespread destitution - Labour MP
Labour's Alex Norris says the number of people using food banks is increasing and asks the prime minister to apologise for the daily chaos in government which is leaving widespread destitution unaddressed.
Sunak says the government has delivered lower inflation and tax cuts. "That's the right way to go about supporting people," he says.