Keir Starmer laid bare Kemi Badenoch’s shift in position on whether the UK should get involved in the war in Iran, slamming the Tory leader for the “mother of all U-turns.”
This week’s prime minister’s questions saw Starmer and Badenoch clash over support for US action in Iran and fuel duty
But as Badenoch tried to criticise the PM for his handling of the Iran war, this left her open to the fact that she has seemingly completely flipped her stance on the conflict.
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Badenoch started PMQs by asking Starmer why he thinks “now is the right time to increase the cost of petrol.”
In response, the Labour leader said the government was doing no such thing and is instead taking necessary measures to deal with the impact of the conflict in the Middle East.
Starmer said the best thing to do is work with others to deescalate the situation, before highlighting Badenoch’s “screeching U-turn” on UK involvement in the conflict.
He said: “I took the decision that we should not join the initial US-Israeli offensive against Iran. The leader of the opposition attacked me for that relentlessly.
“She said the UK should have joined the US and Israel offensive strikes. Then yesterday in the wake of the economic consequences, the leader of the opposition totally abandoned her position!
“She told the BBC ‘I never said we should join, I haven’t said we should have gone in with the United States.’
“That is the mother of all U-turns on the single most important decision a prime minister ever has to take,” he added.
Throughout PMQs, Starmer challenged Badenoch’s position on Iran, later saying that she and Reform leader Nigel Farage had been “spooked.”
He accused them both of trying to “back peddle” after “jumping into supporting the war” without thinking about the consequences.
Starmer also condemned Badenoch for comments last week in which she said RAF jets are “just hanging about” in the Middle East, and asked if she would apologise for her words.