𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Sir Keir Starmer has been given a major ticking off by Sir Lindsay Hoyle after the PM began breaking Commons customs to promote new policies. In recent weeks the Prime Minister has been using the start of each PMQs session to go on a lengthy monologue about work his government has been doing, without the opportunity for opposition members to respond.

The PM is supposed to use the first PMQs answer to set out his diary for the rest of the day before moving onto questions, though has slight leeway to acknowledge a death or important national moment before the session begins. However Sir Keir has been stretching this to breaking point in recent weeks, and today used it announce a new policy before the session began. He spent a minute recounting last week’s Budget, cutting energy bills, freezing train fares and prescription charges.

However, it’s now understood that the Prime Minister has been privately admonished by the Speaker for his behaviour.

Sir Lindsay delivered a dressing down to Sir Keir behind the scenes to inform him he must not continue stretching the rules to deliver what some have branded a ‘party political broadcast’ each week.

A Parliamentary source added that policy changes should be delivered by a minister to the House and made using a proper parliamentary statement that gives opposition MPs the opportunity to question the announcement.

They explained: “The answer to the first question at PMQs is usually a round-up of the PM’s engagements – so he could say I’ve just returned from the G7, or sad to report that such and such has died.”

Sir Keir’s new PMQs trick was first spotted at the end of October, with criticism directed towards Sir Lindsay for not shutting it down straight away.

Downing Street was approached for comment.