Keir Starmer will face questioning at PMQs, with Kemi Badenoch likely to challenge him on his proposed supermarket price controls. The UK government is considering a voluntary scheme to freeze essential food prices amid rising inflation linked to the Middle East conflict.
Key points
Keir Starmer faces PMQs questioning
Kemi Badenoch to challenge Starmer on price controls
UK government considers voluntary price freeze for supermarkets
Proposal aims to address inflation linked to Middle East conflict
Dan Tomlinson clarifies it's not a formal government announcement
Mentioned in this story
Keir StarmerKemi BadenochDan TomlinsonSNP
Good morning. PMQs is back, and there are at least two obvious issues for Kemi Badenoch to raise when she faces Keir Starmer.
What Tories calls Starmer’s “Soviet-style” plan to curb supermarket prices
As Sarah Butler, Mark Sweney and Heather Stewart report, UK supermarkets have been asked by the government to consider freezing the prices of some essential foodstuffs to protect the public from inflation fuelled by the Middle East conflict.
On the Today programme, Dan Tomlinson, a Treasury minister, did not deny the story, but he stressed that this was “not a government announcement”, just a story about what ministers might be looking at. He said it was right for ministers to consider ideas that could help people with the cost of living.
This is unlikely to impress Badenoch. This is what her shadow business secretary, Andrew Griffith, said about the story last night.
double quotation markThis is more nuts than a squirrel convention!
I warned Rachel Reeves prices would go up if she raised taxes and drowned employers in red tape. She didn’t listen and now she’s proposing Soviet style measures!
This morning Badenochclaimed this showed that the government’s refusal to allow new drilling in the North Sea was “insane”.
double quotation markAfter 18 months of “standing up to Putin” the Labour govt quietly issued a licence allowing imports of Russian oil refined in third countries.
Q&A
What is Keir Starmer's plan for supermarket prices?
Keir Starmer has proposed a plan to curb supermarket prices, which has been criticized by Tories as 'Soviet-style'.
How is the UK government addressing rising food prices?
The UK government is exploring a voluntary scheme for supermarkets to freeze prices on essential food items to combat inflation.
What did Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson say about the price control proposal?
Dan Tomlinson confirmed that the government is considering ideas to help with the cost of living but emphasized that there has been no formal announcement.
How does the UK government's proposal differ from the SNP's plan?
Unlike the SNP's mandatory price caps on essential food items, the UK government's proposal is for a voluntary scheme for supermarkets.
See every story in News — including breaking news and analysis.
Yesterday Labour MPs voted AGAINST UK oil and gas licences.
We are now importing from Russia instead of drilling in the North Sea.
Insane.
It is not just the Tories attacking the government over this. In an interview with the Today programme this morning, Emily Thornberry, the Labour chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, said people in Ukraine felt “very let down” by this. She said:
double quotation markWe are talking about our allies in Ukraine who have been fighting a war bravely against Russia for years and years with our support.
They have looked to Britain as one of their most important allies, and they don’t understand, given that we promised that we would stop this loophole in October, and we still haven’t done it. In fact, it seems to have got worse. People feel very let down.
Thornberry said Ukrainians view sanctions as vital because “they believe that every bit of joint pressure they make with their allies is pushing Russia ever closer to ending the war because this is absolutely crippling their economy”. She went on:
double quotation markThere was a G7 announcement on the 19 May which said that they, the G7, had an unwavering commitment to put pressure on Russia including sanctions on the energy sector and actions against entities in third countries that materially support Russia’s war effort but we’re still saying that we’re going to take sanctioned oil but so long as it goes to Turkey first and then it’s refined, we will use it.
After PMQs, Wes Streeting will give a resignation speech in the Commons. He is taking advantage of the convention that allows a cabinet minister who has resigned to make a “personal statement” in the Commons before the main debate of the day starts. Streeting resigned last week saying he no longer had confidence in Starme as PM. He did not launch a leadership bid, but he has ambitions for the top job and we are likely to get some indication as to what his manifesto for the Labour leadership would be were he to be a candidate in a contest later this year.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Alan Milburn, the former Labour cabinet minister chairing the government review into young people and work, gives evidence to the Commons work and pensions committee on youth employment.
Morning: John Swinney is sworn in as Scotland’s first minister at the court of session in Edinburgh. Then he will appoint his cabinet, with announcements due before the end of the day.
12.50pm: Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is due to take part in a Q&A at the UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum. Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor and Labour candidate in the Makerfield byelection, is also due to speak at the event at various meetings.
Afternoon: Wes Streeting is due to give a speech in the Commons following his resignation as health secretary.
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (between 10am and 3pm), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.
I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
