Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
John Crace

‘Don’t mention the local elections’: Keir and Kemi sign non-aggression pact at PMQs

Kemi Badenoch speaking in the House of Commons
What’s left to say about Kemi Badenoch? KemiKaze is going to KemiKaze. Photograph: House of Commons/AFP/Getty

You’d have thought it might have been a moment for contrition. Or failing that, a veneer of humility. At the very least a nano-second’s pause for self-reflection. An admission from Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch that voters had turned their backs on both of them at last week’s local elections. A potential kiss of death for England’s traditional two-party system.

Not a bit of it. Come prime minister’s questions and neither Keir nor Kemi was in the mood to give an inch. Everything was exactly as it should be. The locals – what locals? – had never happened. No one does amnesia better than politicians with their backs to the wall. It was almost as though they had signed a non-aggression pact. Just don’t mention the war. Snafu. Situation Normal All Fucked Up.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.