Labour leader calls out Prime Minister amid laughter over financial struggles.

In a heated exchange during Prime Minister’s Questions, Labour leader Keir Starmer took the Tories to task, accusing them of callously laughing at the plight of an Iceland worker struggling with skyrocketing mortgage rates. Starmer’s impassioned address condemned the Tories for their alleged insensitivity, claiming they had “forfeited their right to lecture people” on financial matters, particularly after their party’s role in the economic downturn.

Starmer raised the case of Phil, an Iceland employee from Warrington, whose mortgage repayments surged by a staggering £1,000 a month. The Labour leader drew a sharp comparison with senior Tory George Freeman, MP for Mid Norfolk, who recently resigned as a minister, citing an inability to afford increased mortgage payments on his £118,000 ministerial salary.

Addressing the Prime Minister, Starmer stated, “This week I met one of the employees at Iceland in Warrington, Phil…” The mention of Phil was met with jeers and laughter from the Tory benches, prompting the Speaker of the Commons to intervene.

Undeterred, Starmer continued, “Laughing at an employee at Iceland who is struggling to pay his mortgage? Shame!” He then went on to highlight Phil’s plight, emphasizing the severity of the situation: “He told me that his mortgage is going up by a staggering £1,000 a month, Prime Minister…. if the member for Mid Norfolk, on £120,000 can’t afford this Tory government, how on earth can people like Phil?”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in response, focused on economic management, inflation, and tax policies, stating that, thanks to the government’s measures, workers like Phil were benefiting from a tax cut worth hundreds of pounds. However, Starmer retorted, accusing Sunak of being “so out of touch, it was unbelievable,” and urging the Prime Minister to personally explain to Phil how increased mortgage payments were supposedly making him better off.

In a final jab, Starmer suggested that the Tories were detached from the struggles of ordinary citizens and concluded by proposing a general election to allow the country to move forward.