Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has received praise from across the political spectrum for his first high-profile event since his election.
It was the first time since his election and since the coronavirus forced Britain into lockdown that the new leader of the opposition has been seen in Parliament.
Sir Keir sat in a near-empty House of Commons, following rules for socially distant gatherings, for the first Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQS) while other MPs joined online for a virtual sitting.
PMQs is a weekly event where opposition parties and leaders get the chance to ask questions of the prime minister. On Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab stood in for the still-recovering Boris Johnson.
After Mr Starmer’s performance on Wednesday, there were some admiring tweets from those on the other side of the political spectrum and from those generally expected to be neutral.
George Osborne a former Conservative government minister who is now editor of London’s Evening Standard, said: “Watching PMQs there’s one clear conclusion: after a 5 year absence, Britain has an opposition again.”
Watching PMQs there’s one clear conclusion: after a 5 year absence, Britain has an opposition again
— George Osborne (@George_Osborne) April 22, 2020
Labour MP David Lammy wrote: “Confident, fluent, sharp, direct, forensic."
Confident, fluent, sharp, direct, forensic. A commanding first performance from @Keir_Starmer at #PMQs. The ideal leadership at this moment of global crisis.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) April 22, 2020
Alistair Campbell, a key staffer in the last Labour government who had clashed with the previous party leadership, also sang Sir Keir’s praises
He tweeted: “Right issues, right tone, right mix of empathy and detail, and right balance.”
Every question so far from @Keir_Starmer spot on. Right issues, right tone,right mix of empathy and detail, and right balance of support for government objectives but determination to hold them to account. Raab still in platitude mode used at briefings. Needs better answers #pmqs
— ALASTAIR CAMPBELL (@campbellclaret) April 22, 2020
Harry Cole, deputy political editor at the right-wing Mail on Sunday tweeted: “Opposition. Actual functioning opposition.”
Opposition. Actual functioning opposition. https://t.co/CwLzOAKaww
— Harry Cole (@MrHarryCole) April 22, 2020
He was followed by Tom Newton Dunn, political editor at The Sun, another right-wing tabloid, who said Mr Raab had conceded for the first time that it will “be a challenge” to reach the government’s testing targets.
Dominic Raab concedes for first time that Govt's 100k tests a day target is going to be a challenge to hit by April 30: “It does require an exponential increase in the final week” #PMQs
— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) April 22, 2020
Tim Montgomerie, a political blogger who created the ConservativeHome website added: “This is an impressive debut.”
This is an impressive debut from @Keir_Starmer: probing, relevant but courteous. Her Majesty’s Opposition is back #pmqs
— Tim Montgomerie 🇬🇧 (@montie) April 22, 2020
Adam Boulton, editor at large at Sky News, said Sir Keir was getting direct answers from Mr Raab.
Leader of the Opposition @Keir_Starmer raising similar points to daily news conferences. But with added authority of parliament requiring direct answers not evasion.
— Adam Boulton (@adamboultonSKY) April 22, 2020
At the BBC, political presenter Andrew Neil said Mr Starmer’s performance meant “the government will need to raise its game”.
After today's exchanges at PMQs it is clear that the United Kingdom now has a functioning, probing, measured, informed Official Opposition. The government will need to raise its game.
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) April 22, 2020
