Key facts
- Kemi Badenoch called Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson a "spiteful class warrior" during Prime Minister's Questions.
- Badenoch also stated Keir Starmer had "400 knives stuck in his back" by his MPs.
- Speaker Lindsay Hoyle rebuked Badenoch for her language, urging for more decorum.
- A verbal altercation reportedly followed between Badenoch and Phillipson after the session.
- Badenoch later posted on social media that a "council estate" background was "not an excuse for failure" and accused Labour of "class envy".
- Senior Labour figures defended Phillipson and criticised Badenoch's comments.
Labour MPs have criticised Kemi Badenoch following a contentious Prime Minister's Questions session where she made personal attacks against Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Labour leader Keir Starmer.
During the exchange, Badenoch referred to Phillipson as a "spiteful class warrior" and stated that Starmer had been betrayed by his own party, claiming there were "400 knives stuck in his back". These remarks led to a rare rebuke from Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who urged MPs to use more decorum and respect in their language.
Phillipson, who grew up in poverty, was defended by Starmer as an "incredible story of social mobility and success". Badenoch's comments were made in the context of Labour's policy to apply 20% VAT to private school fees, which she argued was a "vindictive and class war tax hike" that had led to school closures and disrupted children's education.
Following the session, sources reported a heated exchange between Badenoch and Phillipson. Labour MPs condemned Badenoch's language, with one ally of Phillipson stating that the attack targeted "the only working-class woman from the north-east of England in the cabinet" and that "the Tories hate working-class people who do well".
Badenoch later posted on social media that growing up on a council estate was "not an excuse for failure" and accused Labour of sacrificing children's futures "on the altar of your class envy".
Senior Labour figures, including David Lammy and Douglas Alexander, defended Phillipson, with Alexander stating that the cabinet was the most state-schooled in the postwar era and motivated by tackling poverty rather than spite.