PMQs - Starmer vs Badenoch: Adolescence, Online Safety & the US Intelligence Blunder
- The Political Register
- Mar 26
- 4 min read
The introduction to Prime Minister's Questions this week was marked by Keir Starmer’s introduction of a charity focusing on bringing back kidnapped children in the Russia - Ukraine war. Interestingly, this comes one week after the US cut budgets for a Yale University research lab which was compiling data on the abduction of an estimated 35,000 children from Ukraine. Yale sources have claimed the US state department has completely deleted evidence which would have been used for rescue efforts for these children. Starmer's decision to invite this charity to PMQs and his statement of dedication to returning the kidnapped children continues the leadership role Britain is beginning to play in support for Ukraine following the Trump administration’s abandonment of the US’ perceived role in the world.
Outside of this, the expectation may have been that PMQs would have been dominated with discussion of the subsequent Spring Statement. However, despite referring to it as an “emergency budget”, Badenoch then immediately switched her focus to education, which dominated much of the debate throughout. Badenoch focused questions on the government’s decision to vote against a Conservative amendment to legally enforce a smartphone ban. The amendment would have forced headteachers to introduce a ban on both carrying and using phones in schools Currently, headteachers have guidance to do this, but are not legally required to do so. Much of this debate has accelerated on the back of the success of Adolescence, with writer Jack Thorne urging for a complete ban for under-16s.
Badenoch attacked the government vote as being an “ideological” decision, an attack which was easily rebuffed by Starmer’s reminder that he has two kids in state school. In reality, the government’s decision to vote against the bill was motivated by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s preference for an in depth scrutiny of smartphones in schools. The review will look at how schools which follow the existing guidance enforce the bans, and which methods of enforcement have produced the most effective results. In fact, frustrations were raised that under the Conservative’s guidance, no monitoring of this was set up. Thus, a smartphone ban is certainly not out of the question in the long term, but the government will proceed with an in-depth review first.
Adolescence was referenced directly in Ed Davey’s first question, which called for social media restrictions for children and stronger online safety protections. Specifically, Davey called for greater regulation of social media corporations and an increase in tax for social media giants. Starmer responded by saying the Online Safety Act may not go far enough - when passed, the bill was watered down extensively under the Conservative government - and further measures may come. In all, the government appears to be in favour of further restrictions, but seek to undertake in-depth reviews first.
Ed Davey went on to ask Starmer about the recent blunder in the MAGA administration. The Signal group chat, which inadvertently included the Editor of The Atlantic - a Trump critical publication - and resulted in the disclosure of classified information that could potentially risk the names and locations of CIA assets. This is one of the worst intelligence failures and leaks of modern time by high-ranking administration officials. The group, which was started by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, included Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, VP JD Vance and of course Jeffrey Goldberg - The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief. The Lib Dems want Starmer to open an immediate review into security intelligence sharing with the US, hinting at a belief that the US is no longer a reliable partner to the Five Eyes agreement. Whilst no British personnel had been put at risk as a result of the group chat blunder, this shows the possibilities that it could happen with the UK Armed Forces heavily engaged in the region. Davey hints at these conclusions by calling out JD Vance for his anti-British sentiment.
Kim Ledbeater, the backbench Labour MP leading the assisted dying bill through parliament, stood to ask Starmer to ensure his government acts swiftly in implementing the measures under the bill upon its passing when it is practicable to do so. Starmer agreed with Ledbeater, even though members of his cabinet, such as Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, remain divided with him on support for the bill. Concerns remain around the Health and Justice Secretaries' abilities to implement measures they oppose to the best of their abilities. Starmer’s support for the Bill and Leadbeater’s leadership of it will provide some confidence that the measures will be properly implemented when the time comes.
Sourcing and Further Reading:
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