PMQs verdict: Keir Starmer is copying the Cameron playbook from 2010 - it’s the economy stupid

Today (31 January) at PMQs, the Labour leader said three times that the government has “crashed the economy”. You would have thought that this would be a regular attack from Starmer across the despatch box, after Liz Truss’ mini-Budget spooked the markets and sent interest rates skyrocketing. 

However, this was the first time he’s uttered the phrase three times, and only once before at PMQs has Starmer said it twice. He started off by mentioning George Freeman, the Tory MP who quit as Science Minister as he said he couldn’t afford to pay his new mortgage on a salary of almost £120,000.

“There are 200,000 people, just like the Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman), coming off fixed-rate mortgages and paying more each and every month, because the Conservatives crashed the economy,” Starmer said.

He then twice repeated: “The government have crashed the economy, mortgages are skyrocketing - they are doubling the debt.” Focusing on the cost of living crisis is fertile ground for Starmer. The economy is still the most important issue to more than half of voters, and many people still associate the actions of Truss with their mortgage going up or house move falling through.

And it’s a tricky area for Sunak. While inflation has come down, polls show that voters don’t tend to give the government credit for this. The Prime Minister has the propensity to sounding overly optimistic when people’s personal finances are still taking a hit, and mortgage rates more than double what they were in 2021. 

Sunak claimed that due to support from Jeremy Hunt, homeowners will be “able to save hundreds of pounds”. However, that is either by going to interest-only payments or extending their mortgage term - all costing more in the long run. 

And when Starmer said “finding hundreds of pounds extra per month may not seem like a big deal to the Prime Minister”, Sunak accused him of resorting to the “politics of envy”. When the multi-millionaire PM flies around in a helicopter or private jet, it’s easy to see why the “out of touch” jibes stick.

In fact, Starmer’s tactic of continually repeating that the Tories have “crashed the economy” is reminiscent of one of Sunak’s Cabinet colleagues, the Foreign Secretary David Cameron. Before and after the 2010 general election, Cameron continually talked about how “Labour crashed the economy”, and the tag stuck.

Labour was behind in the opinion polls asking “which party is best to grow the economy” for a decade … until December 2022, a couple of months after the mini-Budget. It’s no surprise that Starmer and Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves are desperate to show they’ve got business on side, highlighted by their big conference tomorrow. Starmer knows that if he can drill into voters that the Conservatives crashed the economy, like Cameron did with Labour in 2010, he can keep the Tories out of power for a generation.

PMQs verdict - points win for Starmer

Both Sunak and Starmer were not on their best form, perhaps put off by the constant interruptions from Speaker Lindsay Hoyle to quieten the baying backbenchers. The pair stuttered on occasion, sometimes losing their train of thought.

However, the Labour leader's focus on the economy and cost of living was more effective. Sunak was once again left looking out of touch as Tory MPs crowed when Starmer brought up Phil, a Iceland worker whose mortgage has gone up by £1,000-a-month.

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.