Labour Whips Shut Down PMQs to Protect Starmer

0:00On April 16th, labor whips made a bold move to shut down next week's Prime Minister's questions early, all to spare Keir Starmer another rough round. With Kemi-Bottonak, after a heated clash in the Commons, sources say they push to wrap up business by Tuesday dodging the usual Wednesday showdown. This came right after Starmer blew up as Speaker Sir Lindsey Hoyle on Wednesday. The Speaker had to step in until the PM to stop side-stepping Bottonak's questions during the session. It's happened a few times lately, with Hoyle reminding him it's time for straight answers. Opposition figures are fired up, calling for Starmer to apologize to the Speaker for ranting at him in the chamber. Shadow Commons leader Jesse Norman slammed it as contemptuous behavior, pointing out 23 out of 24 responses from Starmer ignored. The actual questions, peers in the House of Lords, shut down the rush to end the session early, rejecting pressure to ram through government bills by April 29th.

1:00A source there said, folks aren't buying the dodge. Speakers office did firm, stressing rules for questions and answers get enforced on all PMs, and they've nudged number 10 officials multiple times. Tensions stay high as Parliament parades before the King's speech on May 13th.