Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK Conservative Party, has sharply criticised Keir Starmer, calling him “a terrible Prime Minister” following his resignation as Labour leader and head of government.
Starmer announced on Monday that he would be stepping down as Labour leader after less than two years in office, though he will remain Prime Minister until a new party leader is chosen.
Responding on X, Badenoch accused his administration of multiple policy failures, insisting that Britain is “not ungovernable.”
She listed a series of criticisms, including increases in National Insurance, the introduction of what she described as the “Family Farm Tax,” the abandonment of meaningful welfare reform, insufficient defence funding, failure to expand domestic oil and gas production, and the appointment of Peter Mandelson, which she claimed was followed by misleading public explanations.
“Hiking national insurance. The Family Farm Tax. Giving up on real welfare reform. Not funding our defence. Not drilling our own oil and gas. Appointing Peter Mandelson… then lying about what had happened,” she wrote.
“Britain is not ungovernable. Keir Starmer is a terrible Prime Minister,” she added.
Badenoch further argued that the issues went beyond Starmer personally, saying Labour MPs were committed to higher taxation in order to expand welfare spending.
“But the problem isn’t just Starmer. Labour MPs only want higher taxes to hand out more benefits, as the Welfare Secretary has pointed out. These are Labour’s choices and their values, regardless of who is running the party,” she said.
She concluded by calling for a return to Conservative leadership: “We need to get Britain working again. We need the Conservatives.”
