Badenoch appointed self as saviour of western civilisation in search for relevance — UK PM

United Kingdom Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has taunted the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, saying she appointed herself as the saviour of western civilisation in a bid for relevance.

During a parliamentary session on Wednesday, Badenoch claimed that Starmer had acted on her advice regarding the aid budget while questioning inconsistencies in defence spending figures.

"Over the weekend I suggested to the prime minister that he cut the aid budget, and I am pleased that he accepted my advice. It’s the fastest response I’ve ever had from the prime minister,” she said.

She further pressed Starmer on defence spending, stating, “However, he announced £13.4 billion of additional defence spending yesterday. This morning, his defence secretary said the uplift is only £6bn. Which is the correct figure?”

In a swift rebuttal, the prime minister dismissed her remarks, making it clear that her input had no bearing on his decisions.

"I’m going to have to let the leader of the opposition down gently. She didn’t feature in my thinking at all. I was so busy over the weekend, I didn’t even see her proposal,” Mr Starmer said.

He went further, describing her as someone searching for relevance. “She’s appointed herself, I think, the saviour of Western civilisation. It’s a desperate search for relevance. If you take the numbers for this financial year, and then the numbers for financial year 27/28, that’s a £13.4bn increase—the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War.”