Prime Minister Keir Starmer has accused Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch of performing what he described as “the mother of all U-turns” after she appeared to change her position on the ongoing conflict involving Iran.
The clash unfolded during Prime Minister’s Questions as political tensions escalated over the UK’s response to the crisis in the Middle East and its potential economic fallout. The conflict has unsettled global markets, triggering a sharp rise in oil prices and sparking fears of wider economic instability.
Badenoch used the session to urge the government to abandon its planned increase in fuel duty, which is scheduled to take effect in September. The policy has become a focal point of debate as households and businesses brace for higher energy costs.
Keir Starmer Criticises Kemi Badenoch’s Changing Position On Iran Conflict
Responding to Badenoch, Starmer said the government was keeping the fuel duty policy “under review” before criticising the Conservative leader’s stance on the Iran situation.
He said: “As I said to the House last week, I took the decision that we should not join the initial US-Israeli offensive against Iran.
“The leader of the opposition attacked me for that decision relentlessly, she said that the UK should have joined the US and Israel in the initial offensive strikes, then yesterday, in the wake of the economic consequences, the leader of the opposition totally abandoned her position.”
Starmer added: “That is the mother of all U-turns on the single most important decision the prime minister ever has to take – whether to commit the United Kingdom to war or not.”
Nigel Farage And Reform UK Also Targeted Over War Comments
The prime minister also directed criticism at Reform UK, claiming its position on the conflict had also shifted. Reform leader Nigel Farage had previously criticised Starmer for refusing to allow the United States to use British bases to launch strikes on Iran.
However, Farage later said: “Let’s not get ourselves involved in another foreign war.”
Starmer said: “After nine days of saying, ‘join the war, join the war, join the war’, yesterday, she says ‘I never said we should join, I haven’t said we should go in with the US’.
“I’ll tell you what’s happened, she and the Reform leader have been spooked, because they realise they have jumped into supporting a war without thinking through the consequences, and now she is furiously trying to backpedal.”
Conservatives Hit Back Over Fuel Duty And Cost Of Living Concerns
A Conservative spokesperson responded strongly to the prime minister’s remarks, accusing him of avoiding questions about the planned rise in fuel duty.
The spokesperson said: “We have just seen a truly shameful display from the prime minister.
“Six times he was asked why he is raising fuel duty for families and businesses this year, six times he refused to answer, instead smearing the leader of the opposition and deliberately misrepresenting her position on Iran and our armed forces.
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“Keir Starmer has shown he doesn’t care about drivers and doesn’t care about the cost of living. He has no answer on petrol prices, because he knows that raising fuel duty for the first time in 15 years is the clearest possible symbol of Labour’s total mismanagement of the economy.”
The exchange comes as the Iran crisis continues to intensify across the Middle East, fuelling uncertainty in global energy markets and placing growing political pressure on governments in Europe.
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