PMQs: Keir Starmer’s questionable parliamentary language

Keir Starmer was clearly keen today to make sure people remembered what is normally a rather pointless PMQs session before an economic statement. The Labour leader did so by using slightly questionable language, calling Boris Johnson ‘half-arsed’.

MPs will debate whether or not this was parliamentary language (he couldn’t have called the Prime Minister a ‘stoolpigeon’ or ‘pecksniffian’, so he had clearly chosen his words carefully). His reason for accusing Johnson of this was that he didn’t think the Prime Minister had fully engaged with the case of the 800 sacked P&O ferry workers. The pair had a rather impatient exchange on this matter, with Starmer repeatedly saying Johnson didn’t understand or care about what was going on and the Prime Minister accusing him of reading out ‘scripted’ questions that didn’t take into account his previous answers.

Starmer’s opening gambit was that if the Prime Minister couldn’t stop the sackings, ‘what’s the point of his government?’ Johnson started out strongly with his answers, revealing that the government believed P&O had broken two laws, both of which, he emphasised, had been brought in by Conservatives in government.