PM Starmer Slams Kemi Badenoch as ‘Self-Appointed Saviour of Western Civilisation’
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, has hit back at Kemi Badenoch, the Nigerian-British Tory leader, accusing her of desperately seeking relevance and labeling her a “self-appointed saviour of Western civilisation.”
The exchange follows Badenoch’s claim that Starmer had followed her advice to reduce the UK’s aid budget. She also raised concerns about discrepancies in the government’s defense budget figures.
Badenoch had stated, “Over the weekend, I suggested to the Prime Minister that he cut the aid budget, and I am pleased that he accepted my advice. It’s the fastest response I’ve ever had from the Prime Minister. However, he announced £13.4 billion in additional defense spending yesterday. This morning, his Defence Secretary said the uplift is only £6bn. Which is the correct figure?”
However, responding during a plenary session on Wednesday, Prime Minister Starmer dismissed Badenoch’s assertion, asserting that he had not been influenced by her suggestion. He clarified that he hadn’t even seen her proposal before making the announcement.
“I’m going to have to let the leader of the opposition down gently. She didn’t feature in my thinking at all. I was so busy over the weekend I didn’t even see her proposal. She’s appointed herself, I think, the saviour of Western civilisation. It’s a desperate search for relevance,” Starmer said.
He further explained that the £13.4bn increase in defense spending represented the largest sustained increase since the Cold War, and stressed that the numbers for this financial year and for 27/28 demonstrated the scale of the investment.
