Maia Davies
Live reporter

Image source, House of Commons

Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch clashed over welfare spending at the final Prime Minister's Questions before next week's elections.

The Tory leader kicked off the session by accusing the prime minister of "begging" his MPs to save his job, after they last night voted down her motion that he be investigated over claims he misled the Commons over Lord Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador. Starmer ignored the swipe and instead emphasised his pride in his government's achievements.

The exchange quickly turned to welfare spending, which Badenoch claimed was so high the UK could not afford to defend itself. Starmer said he would take "no lectures" from the Conservatives on this matter and defended his government's spending record. BBC Verify has crunched the numbers on these claims.

There were few questions from Badenoch about Mandelson, our political correspondent in the Commons noted.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, meanwhile, pressed the PM on comments reported to have been made by the new ambassador Christian Turner, while the SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn claimed Starmer had "promised change but has delivered chaos".

The session followed a tricky few days for the prime minister, wrote Politics Live presenter Vicky Young, with Starmer trying to send his MPs off with a spring in their step and a message that his government is delivering change.

We’re bringing our live coverage of UK politics to a close, thanks for joining us.

Government expected to spend more on welfare than it raises in taxpublished at 14:17 BST 29 April

14:17 BST 29 April

By Tom Edgington

During her exchanges with the PM, Kemi Badenoch also claimed: “We are now spending more on welfare than we earn in income tax.”

Welfare spending was expected to total £332.9bn in the 12 months to March 2026, according to last month’s forecast published by the Office for Budget Responsibility, external - the body which monitors UK government spending.

Over the same period, the government is also expected to raise £331.4bn from income tax - so Badenoch’s claim is correct.

It’s worth noting that welfare spending includes a significant amount of state pension expenditure.

According to separate figures from the Department for Work and Pensions, external, £146.1bn is expected to be spent on the state pension in 2025-26.

Is Badenoch right about the number of people out of work?published at 14:14 BST 29 April

14:14 BST 29 April

By Anthony Reuben and Amy Whittlestone

One of the questions Kemi Badenoch asked the prime minister was: "How many more people are out of work and claiming Universal Credit since he took office?"

When Keir Starmer did not give a figure, she told him: "The number is 1.5 million people."

It's not completely clear how Badenoch reached the figure - BBC Verify have contacted her office to check - but she may have combined the following two categories of people on Universal Credit:

• People who are out of work and looking for a job
• People claiming Universal Credit and not currently looking for work, including people living with certain disabilities

If you add them up, the figure from , externalthe Department for Work and Pensions, external shows the number of people has gone up by 1.5 million, since Starmer took office in July 2024, to just under five million people.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

Rising spending on welfare is an issue the Conservatives and Reform will continue to attack the government over.

Kemi Badenoch in PMQs said 1.5 million "more people are out of work and claiming Universal Credit" since Labour took office in 2024.

In a briefing for reporters after the session, the prime minister’s political secretary hit back and said most of this increase are not new claimants, but people being moved onto Universal Credit from older outdated benefit systems.

Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, has just posted along similar lines, saying: “The vast majority of new UC [Universal Credit] claims since the election are crossovers from legacy benefits - a process created, planned and introduced by the Conservatives."

Starmer does his best to persuade MPs he's delivering change ahead of next week's electionspublished at 13:21 BST 29 April

13:21 BST 29 April

Vicki Young
Politics Live presenter

After a challenging few days for the prime minister, Keir Starmer attempted to use today’s PMQs to send his MPs off with a spring in their step - with a message that his government is delivering change.

Cabinet Office minister Chris Ward told me on Politics Live earlier that Starmer is only just getting started, and that talk of potential leadership challenges is no more than a Westminster media obsession.

But Kemi Badenoch did her best to press the PM’s bruise, challenging him on the economy. With Parliament now in recess until the State Opening of Parliament on 13 May, attention now moves to next week’s slate of elections in England, Scotland and Wales.

The results of those elections are likely to deliver another tricky period for the PM.

How does UK defence spending compare to welfare?published at 12:58 BST 29 April

12:58 BST 29 April

By Ben Chu

A little earlier, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch criticised the government over defence spending, saying: "We are spending so much on welfare we cannot afford to defend the country."

Badenoch also quoted former Labour defence secretary Lord Robertson, who recently said "we cannot defend Britain with an ever expanding welfare budget".

BBC Verify has previously looked at what’s been happening to defence spending and welfare spending over the last several decades. In the mid-1980s, spending on working-age benefits was lower than on defence. Defence spending at the time was more than 4% of the UK’s GDP, or economic output - a similar percentage to the current spending on welfare.

And welfare is projected to rise to around 4.3% of GDP by the end of the decade - pushed up, in part, by rising claims for things like Personal Independence Payments (PIP).

While there is some evidence that a rising number of people suffering from mental health conditions have contributed to the increase in PIP claims, independent researchers remain uncertain about the exact causes behind the upward trend.

The government is currently planning to commit 2.5% of GDP to Nato-qualifying defence spending by April 2027, with an "ambition" to spend, 3% of GDP in the next Parliament., external

At the end of the PMQs session, there's a point of order from Labour MP Catherine West on the reports of a stabbing attack north London.

Starmer calls the events "deeply concerning" and says a police investigation is under way.

• Our colleagues are bringing you the latest on this incident in a separate live page - two Jewish people are reported to have been seriously injured in the attack

PMQs is over - and there was a slight weariness to today’s proceedingspublished at 12:52 BST 29 April

12:52 BST 29 April

Harry Farley
Political correspondent, in the Commons

Labour MPs are tired of having to repeatedly address questions about Lord Mandelson. And the Conservatives feel - for the time being at least - that questions about the prime minister’s role have run their course.

The focus is firmly on these crucial elections next week, taking place in England, Scotland and Wales.

But remember we’re expecting the next dump of documents relating to Mandelson’s appointment when Parliament returns in a few weeks. So that story isn’t going away.

Image source, House of Commons

• Tory leader Kemi Badenoch began by accusing Starmer of "begging" MPs to save his job, after her motion for the PM to be investigated over accusations of misleading the Commons failed on Tuesday
• Starmer ignored the snipe, and emphasised his pride in his government's achievements as the end of this Parliamentary session nears
• The two then sparred on welfare spending, as Badenoch claimed 1.5 million more people are out of work and claiming universal credit since Starmer took office in 2024 - the PM replied that he is working to reform the system left by the Tories. BBC Verify is digging into the figures and we'll bring you more on this shortly; we've also contacted the Department for Work and Pensions for a response
• Welfare spending, Badenoch suggested, means the government "cannot afford to defend the country" - but Starmer responded that defence spending is currently the highest it's been "since the Cold War"
• Pushing again on defence, the Tory leader called for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to lose her role over the long wait for an anticipated defence spending plan
• Starmer, though, hit back with a dig at Badenoch's position on Iran, and said the conflict is causing an increase in the cost of government borrowing
• Analysis: After referencing Tuesday's vote early on, there were no more Mandelson questions from the opposition leader - the week before elections in England, Scotland and Wales, the cost of living instead took priority, our political correspondent writes

Next up, the SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn says "depending on the results of the [Scottish] general election, this may well be my final PMQs".

"I suppose the same is true for the prime minister as well," he continues, to some jeers from the House. Flynn then says Starmer "promised change but has delivered chaos".

Starmer insists he's "proud of what the Labour government has achieved" and what it is going to achieve.

The PM then takes a jibe at Flynn's time in Westminster, saying he "kicked out his predecessor" and then "lost 39 MPs at the general election. "I hope he keeps up that record in Holyrood," Starmer adds.

Joshua Nevett
Reporting from the House of Commons

Image source, House of Commons

“The man in the wetsuit” is how Keir Starmer referred to Lib Dem leader Ed Davey during their exchange.

The jibe left MPs across the chamber in stitches.

Davey is well known for staging political campaign stunts, often involving water sports and yes, wetsuits.

But smiling, he said he was wearing his “dry suit” today.

Ed Davey,back up on his feet, says experts are warning that food prices will rise by 10% this year as "farmers' costs soar".

"Trump's war has exposed how weak Britain's food security is," the Lib Dem leader says, requesting the prime minister include a "good food bill" in the King's Speech to "make sure people can afford the food they need".

Starmer says he spoke about food security during his Cobra meeting on the Middle East yesterday, to manage "the risks of a conflict that will affect every single one of our constituents".

He says that while he was doing that, Davey was wasting time with a "baseless political stunt" during Tuesday's Commons vote.

Back to questions in the Commons - now from other MPs.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey brings up comments reported to have been made by the British ambassador to the US Christian Turner.

The remarks come from a leaked recording from February, which included Turner saying the only country that has a "special relationship" with the US is "probably Israel".

"My advice to my prime minister is 'I can't just put my hands on my ears and say it's special, it's going to be fine'," Turner told a group of students of the transatlantic relationship in February.

Davey asks whether the PM fears he will "now have to fire another" ambassador "for telling the truth"?

Starmer responds by saying he knows Davey "likes stunts, but I was surprised he joined in the one yesterday", referring to the Commons vote on whether Starmer himself misled MPs over Lord Mandelon's appointment as US ambassador.

• For context: The remarks by Turner were first reported by the Financial Times, external on Tuesday, shortly before the King arrived at the White House during his state visit to the US. The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) said the "private, informal comments" were "not any reflection" of the government's position.

Joshua Nevett
Reporting from the House of Commons

Image source, House of Commons

Badenoch decided to focus her early questions on welfare spending.

A reminder that the Labour government attempted to reform welfare last year, but was forced to drop some of its most contentious proposals following a rebellion by Labour MPs.

The government won a vote on its benefits bill, but only after offering last-minute concessions to Labour rebels.

No more Mandelson questions from Badenoch - the cost of living takes prioritypublished at 12:21 BST 29 April

12:21 BST 29 April

Harry Farley
Political correspondent, in the Commons

Kemi Badenoch has chosen to move on from questions about Lord Mandelson’s appointment today.

After more than five hours yesterday, and multiple debates and committee hearings over the past week, the Conservative leader has decided to focus her initial questions on welfare spending and the economy.

She makes reference to the debate yesterday and the sacking of former head of the Foreign Office Olly Robbins. But the Conservatives are conscious that the cost of living - not Mandelson - remains foremost in the public’s mind going into next week’s elections.

Image source, House of Commons

For her final question, Badenoch says the whole country is "sick of this man's tone deaf" approach, referring to the PM.

"It has been one disaster after another," Badenoch continues and accuses the PM of "broken promises on taxes, U-turn after U-turn", as well as losing the deputy prime minister, two chiefs of staff, backbenchers "and all of his credibility".

"How much longer do we have to put up with his shambles?" Badenoch asks.

Starmer responds by saying he changed his party and won a general election. "Her party is smaller than when she started," he adds.

Badenoch points out that Starmer didn't say whether he planned to keep his chancellor in position (see our last post). "It sounds like she's toast," Badenoch says to jeers from the opposition benches.

She asks: "Isn't the real reason the prime minister can't cut welfare, that he squandered all his political capital saving his own skin?"

Starmer then accuses Badenoch of playing a "desperate baseless political stunt ahead of the May elections" with Tuesday's vote on whether the prime minister should be investigated over claims he misled MPs on the appointment of Lord Mandelson as US ambassador.

Meanwhile, he says, he was chairing a Cobra meeting about the war in the Middle East.

Image source, House of Commons

Badenoch continues to quiz Starmer on defence spending. She says the government has been in office for two years, but is yet to produce its anticipated defence spending.

"Talking about defence spending is not the same as giving money for defence," she says.

The Tory leader says that statistics show the cost of government borrowing is now the highest it's been in two decades, and calls for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to be removed from her role.

Starmer replies that the cost of borrowing has increased because of the conflict in Iran, and criticises Badenoch for telling him to "jump in with both feet" to the war.

"She can't complain now about the implications," he adds to cheers from Labour's benches.

Badenoch next says the UK is spending "so much on welfare, we cannot afford to defend the country".

She quotes remarks made by the former Labour defence secretary Lord Robertson about the impact of welfare spending on defence, and asks why Starmer "doesn't agree" with him.

The prime minister responds by saying his is the Labour government that has increased defence spending with "the highest sustained spend since the Cold War", and compares this with the previous Conservative government's record - saying he'll "take no lectures from them" on the matter.

Image source, House of Commons

Badenoch, back on her feet, presses Starmer on why he "doesn't want to say how many more people are out of work and claiming universal credit" since he took office in 2024.

She tells Parliament the real answer is 1.5 million - adding "that is the entire population of Leeds, Cardiff and Edinburgh put together".

In her second question, Badenoch asks Starmer why, on his watch, we are now spending more on welfare that we earn in income tax?

Starmer says the welfare system was put in place by the previous Tory government and that Labour is working to reform it and to improve it.

• BBC Verify is digging into the figure mentioned by Badenoch and we'll bring you more on this shortly; we've also contacted the Department for Work and Pensions for a response