Keir Starmer laughs off election petition after Kemi Badenoch calls for him to resign

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Keir Starmer brushed off an odd question from Kemi Badenoch regarding a petition urging for a General Election as it approached three million signatures. The Labour leader kicked off Prime Minister's Questions by acknowledging the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, stating that while overdue, it proves diplomacy is effective.

He also commended those aiding flood victims in the UK. In a peculiar twist, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch proposed that Starmer should "resign" as Prime Minister to learn about the Tories' tax and spending strategies.

This followed her earlier reluctance to roll back the national insurance hike announced in the Budget, despite criticising the £20 billion tax rise. She also mentioned the petition demanding the PM's resignation but was taken aback by his retort, reports the Mirror.

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Badenoch remarked: "There's a petition out there, 2 million people asking him to go. He's the one who doesn't know how things work... It is not government that creates growth, Mr Speaker, it is business. His employment secretary, she wants more young people in work but businesses say they are cutting jobs because of the chancellor's budget."

"The CBI said on Monday that the dots of the government's policy do not join up. They're right aren't they?"

Starmer retorted to loud applause: "She talks about a petition, we had a massive petition on the 4th of July in this country. We spent years taking our party from a party of protest to a party of government. They're hurtling in the opposite direction."

The petition, initiated by Michael Westwood, saw a significant increase in signatures after Elon Musk promoted it on his X platform. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch used her first question at PMQs to challenge Keir Starmer on Rachel Reeves' promise of no more taxes.

When asked to reiterate the pledge, the PM stated that the government's stance was outlined in the Budget. "I'm not going to write the next five years of Budgets at the despatch box," he declared.

Kemi Badenoch claimed he had declined to repeat the Chancellor's pledge. Mr Starmer responded: "Two weeks ago she stood there saying she wanted all the investment [in the NHS].... they really haven't got a clue what they are doing."

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