THE Tories welcomed “new Thatcher fanboy” Keir Starmer at PMQs on Wednesday afternoon.
It comes after the Labour leader praised the former Tory prime minister in an article for The Telegraph.
Speaking in the Commons, Tory MP Michael Fabricant asked the Prime Minister if he shared his “boundless joy” that Thatcher had a “new fanboy” which was met with laughter from the Tory benches.
In response, Rishi Sunak said: “I am always happy to welcome new Thatcherites from all sides of this house but it does say something about the leader of the opposition that the main female, strong leader he could praise is Margaret Thatcher and not his own fantastic deputy.”
Starmer was forced to downplay his praise for the former Tory PM after sparking widespread backlash for comments labelled an "insult" to Scotland by the First Minister.
The Labour leader said Thatcher had brought "meaningful change" to the UK and applauded her for "setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism before pitching himself as the successor to her and former Labour PM Tony Blair.
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"Every moment of meaningful change in modern British politics begins with the realisation that politics must act in service of the British people, rather than dictating to them," Starmer said.
Speaking at PMQs, the SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn asked Sunak: "Is the Prime Minister worried that he is projected to be the first Conservative Party leader to lose a General Election to a fellow Thatcherite."
His question was met with laughter before the PM replied: "I say to the honourable gentleman, Margaret Thatcher's view was cut inflation, then cut taxes and then win an election and that's very much my plan."
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar condemned Thatcher's legacy but defended Starmer's comments praising her.
He said Thatcher was a "destructive force for our country" but encouraged the public to "actually read the article rather than the headline or opposition attacks".
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