Keir Starmer slapped down a senior Tory minister during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday. The PM hit out after speaker Lindsay Hoyle intervened when Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp heckled him.
The Speaker said: “Mr Philp I expect better from the front bench and I’m sure you’re going to show better.” But the PM responded: “He was Liz Truss’s right hand man so I’m sure we wouldn’t expect anything else.”
Philp was chief secretary to the treasury during Truss’s short stint as Prime Minister.
Truss nearly crashed the economy during her stay in Downing Street and was forced to resign after just seven weeks in the job. Her brief time in office saw a catastrophic mini budget of unfunded tax cuts for the rich that sent the markets into turmoil.
Experts say the budget proposals, which were abandoned after an outcry, worsened the cost of living crisis by sending interest rates and inflation skyrocketing. She became PM after defeating Rishi Sunak in a leadership contest called after Boris Johnson quit in 2022.
As chief secretary to the treasury, Philp was a key part of Kwasi Kwarteng’s team when the mini-budget was introduced. Philp was demoted from the Cabinet when Rishi Sunak took over from Truss as Prime Minister. He stayed in government as a junior minister.
He has regularly been seen wearing Union Jack cuff links and socks. He went vital on social media last year when he confused Rwanda with the Democratic Republic of Congo on Question Time. He seemed unsure as to whether they were separate countries but later said his question was rhetorical as he had difficulty hearing the original question.
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, clickhere