Right from wrong: Badenoch, a strong gender-critical voice, asked the PM whether “he was wrong” to previously say trans women were women in law. Starmer ducked the point, and repeated his welcoming of the judgment for bringing clarity and confidence to women. The PM called on both sides to “lower the temperature” by backing single sex spaces while treating trans people with respect.
Fat chance: This is PMQs, so that obviously wasn’t going to hold. Badenoch asked whether the PM would apologize to Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield, who resigned the Labour whip last year in part because of the party’s perceived flip-flopping on gender. The Tory leader claimed Duffield was “hounded” out of Labour “simply for telling the truth.” The PM, naturally, rejected that charge and called for the Tories to stop playing “political football.”
And yet: Political it remained. Badenoch accused Starmer of being missing in action by taking six days to respond to the decision. “Isn’t it because he was scared?” she cried. The PM’s researchers clearly did their homework over Easter, as Starmer lambasted Badenoch’s record as equalities minister. “She did precisely nothing,” he declared, calling her “a spectator, not a leader.”
Seeing red: That accusation left Badenoch apoplectic as she defended her own record over single sex spaces and puberty blockers. “How can we take this government seriously?” she said, pointing to numerous Labour MPs who have been critical of the Supreme Court decision despite the government line. The political football continued unabated as Starmer ducked the point and raised Shadow Justice Secretary (and former Tory leadership contender) Robert Jenrick’s comments about bringing “this coalition together” of the Tories and Nigel Farage’s Reform.
Writing itself: “The man who most of her party wants to replace her has admitted that Reform and the Tories are working together,” Starmer jeered. “They’re not Conservatives, they’re a con.” The knockabout continued from Badenoch. “Who is playing political football now?” she asked, after Jenrick’s absence from the Commons chamber was noted. “He should be more worried about his backbenchers than my frontbenchers.”
Poles apart: There was little meeting of minds between the pair even though both supported the ruling. Badenoch, in rather eyebrow raising language, said Starmer “doesn’t have the balls” to make difficult decisions. “I can only assume that sounded better when she did it in the mirror earlier on,” the PM mused as he, again, ducked the specific point.
Helpful backbench intervention of the week: Labour’s Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes asked Starmer about the net zero transition and how the government is boosting apprenticeships. What do you know? The PM plugged all of his energy and training plans and highlighted investment into Britain.
Totally unscientific scores on the doors: Badenoch 7/10. Starmer 6/10. Nobody was well-served by this exchange, which inevitably substituted nuance and complexity for party point scoring. The PM skillfully leapt on Jenrick’s and flagged Badenoch’s tenure as equalities minister. But the Tory leader effectively raised Starmer’s changing position on the issue. That, combined with the seeming unity from her backbenches (at least on this) compared to divisions behind Starmer, helped her just eke out a win.