Was that Kemi Badenoch's worst PMQs?

Coffee House Shots

The Spectator

News, Politics, Government, Daily News

4.4 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 February 2025

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today was the final PMQs before recess, and Kemi Badenoch had been hoping to leave on a high before the break. She started promisingly, opening with the case of a family from Gaza being granted asylum in the UK under the scheme designed for Ukrainians. Starmer replied to say he disagreed with the decision of the courts and that the Home Secretary was already looking at how to close the ‘legal loophole’ enabling that decision. But Badenoch seemingly hadn't prepared for his rebuttal, exposing once again the weakness of her own technique. Does she risk being outshone by her own backbenchers?

Also on the podcast, Kim Leadbeater is having to duck suggestions that she has watered down the safeguards in the Assisted Dying Bill by removing the need for a High Court judge. Can the Bill survive?

Oscar Edmondson speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Heale.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Transcript

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0:00.0	We're hosting our first Coffee House Shots live event of 2025 on the 26th of February at the
0:04.8	Emanuel Centre in Westminster. Join Michael Gove, Katie Bulls, Kate Andrews and very special guests,
0:10.8	Jonathan Ashworth and Robert Jenrick for a look to the year ahead. They'll be tackling such questions
0:15.7	as, can the Chancellor reframe the budget in her first spring statement? What will Trump's first
0:20.6	100 days look like? And will reform cause and upset at the local elections? For tickets,
0:25.4	go to spectator.co.com.uk forward slash coffeehouse live.
0:33.2	Hello and welcome to Press Awards nominated Coffee House Shots, the spectator's daily politics podcast.
0:40.8	I'm Oskredmanson and I'm joined by James Heel and Isabel Hardman.
0:44.7	Now, there's lots to talk about today, but I thought we'd start with Prime Minister's
0:49.5	questions, the last Prime Minister's questions before recess. Isabel, did they leave it on a high?
0:55.6	They were not eligible for an award, unlike Coffee House shots,
1:01.0	and just want to underline my congratulations to you, Oscar, and the rest of the team.
1:06.3	But no, I think this was actually,
1:08.2	Kemi Bay, Knoxworth won so far.
1:10.3	And the looks on the faces of the Tory backbenchers behind her suggested I wasn't alone in that conclusion.
1:18.1	She's already struggling at Prime Minister's questions because she doesn't have that many topics that the Tories aren't vulnerable on.
1:26.9	Even if she talks about immigration, it can be, well,
1:29.8	you were the party of open borders, which is the Kirstama line about the Conservative's migration
1:35.3	legacy. It talks about the Chegos Islands. We've seen already how that goes. So today she
1:41.6	opened with what appeared to be a really fertile seam, I suppose.
1:47.2	And it was that a family from Gaza had been given a decision in the immigration tribunals
1:54.4	that they could come and settle here using a scheme that was designed for people from Ukraine.
	...

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