What time is PMQs today? How to watch Rishi Sunak’s first Prime Minister’s Questions after Braverman letter
Rishi Sunak will face Prime Minister’s Questions today, for the first time since bringing David Cameron back into the Cabinet in his dramatic reshuffle.
The reshuffle was triggered by the sacking of Suella Braverman as home secretary, with James Cleverly replacing her, while Victoria Atkins was promoted to Health Secretary, Steve Barclay was appointed Environment Secretary, and Esther McVey also returned to the Cabinet.
Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, said the appointment of Lord Cameron shows the Tories are “out of ideas”, and his return was also criticised by the Tory right. Sir Keir Starmer will have an opportunity to directly question the Prime Minister over the decision at today’s PMQs.
But despite her removal from the Cabinet, Ms Braverman remains the biggest thorn in Mr Sunak’s side, after she published a scathing letter to her old boss accusing him of betrayal.
What time is PMQs today?
PMQs begins at the usual time of 12 noon, and the session will last for about half an hour. You can watch PMQs live on the UK Parliament YouTube channel.
On TV, PMQs airs live on BBC News and Sky News, and is accessible online via BBC iPlayer and the Sky News live YouTube stream.
What should we expect from PMQs?
Ms Braverman offered Sir Keir the perfect gift in her letter to the Prime Minister on Tuesday, and he will doubtless use it as an attack point at PMQs today.
The former home secretary accused Mr Sunak of having “manifestly and repeatedly failed to deliver” on key policies, adding: “Either your distinctive style of government means you are incapable of doing so. Or, as I must surely conclude now, you never had any intention of keeping your promises.”
She said his leadership has led the Conservatives to “record election defeats” and that his “resets have failed and we are running out of time”.
The Prime Minister will want to turn the attention away from Ms Braverman, and is likely to look to highlight today’s news that inflation has fallen to 4.6 per cent. It means he is on track to meet his pledge to halve inflation from 10.7 per cent by the end of the year – as long as the rate does not rise in November or December.
Sir Keir, meanwhile, faces his own problems, with Labour continuing to splinter over his stance on the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
Numerous councillors have quit the party over his refusal to call for a ceasefire, including seven from Blackburn and 11 from Burnley.
They join a growing tally from councils across the country including Oxford, Birmingham, Bradford, Gloucester, Stroud, Manchester, Cambridge, Nottingham and at least four London boroughs – who have decided that Labour’s position on Gaza is so far from their own that they can no longer represent the party.
