Kemi Badenoch launched a fierce assault on Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions today, accusing him of being viewed by his own backbenchers as merely a “caretaker Prime Minister.”

The Conservative leader demanded in the Commons: “Can the right honourable gentleman tell the House why his own MPs are describing him as a caretaker Prime Minister?”

Mrs Badenoch answered her own question, declaring: “He’s being called a caretaker, because everyone can see that he’s lost control of his party. They’re all so busy trying to replace him.”

The attack comes amid growing speculation that potential leadership challengers within Labour are positioning themselves to succeed Sir Keir should he be forced from Downing Street.

Both the Prime Minister and his party currently face poor polling figures.

Sir Keir rejected the Opposition leader’s characterisation, insisting his parliamentary colleagues took pride in their achievements.

“My own MPs are very proud. We’ve just passed a Budget which protected our public services, our NHS,” the Prime Minister responded.

He contrasted Labour’s approach with the previous government’s record, stating: “Not austerity, which brought our NHS to the ground. We created the conditions for economic stability with the headroom we need.”

The Prime Minister maintained that his administration remained focused on what mattered most to ordinary families, emphasising: “We’re concentrated on the single most important issue for families up and down the country, which is the cost of living.”

Sir Keir dismissed Mrs Badenoch’s line of questioning, suggesting she had “absolutely no substance” in her attacks.

The Opposition leader pressed Sir Keir on a series of specific policy failures, repeatedly declaring him “wrong” in his responses.

On policing, Mrs Badenoch claimed there were now 1,300 fewer officers than when Labour took office, despite the Prime Minister’s pledge last year to recruit 13,000 additional police.

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She turned her fire on the Education Secretary, asserting that teacher numbers had fallen by 400 since she entered the role, citing figures from the Department for Education’s own website.

“I can understand that the right honourable lady is angry. We’re all angry at the mess she’s making,” Mrs Badenoch said.

On household energy costs, the Conservative leader accused Sir Keir of producing enough “hot air” to power the national grid, noting bills had increased by £187 rather than falling by the promised £300.

The NHS dominated much of the exchange, with Mrs Badenoch claiming 93,000 hospital appointments had been cancelled due to industrial action since the Health Secretary awarded doctors a substantial pay increase.

She delivered a pointed barb at the government’s relationship with the truth, saying: “I know they wouldn’t know the truth if it punched them in the face, but I’m telling them the truth.”

The Conservative leader also referenced reported tensions within the Cabinet, citing claims that former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner had said she would “rather stick pins in her eyes” than be associated with the Health Secretary’s political ambitions.

Mrs Badenoch suggested the Health Secretary clearly harboured leadership aspirations, noting he had promised to resolve the doctors’ strikes.

She concluded her attack with the slogan: “Labour isn’t working.”

Sir Keir mounted a robust defence by pointing to the state of public services he inherited from the Conservatives.

“They left the NHS an absolute mess with the highest waiting lists on record and the lowest confidence in the NHS ever,” the Prime Minister declared.

He highlighted the Health Secretary’s performance, noting that rather than delivering the promised two million extra appointments, the government had actually achieved five million additional consultations through NHS investment.

On education, Sir Keir accused the Tories of leaving schools in disarray, while also blaming them for a broken economy.

Regarding policing, the Prime Minister said the previous administration had left “the home office, the criminal justice system utterly broken.”

He concluded that the Conservatives “should be utterly ashamed of their record in service.”