Keir Starmer signs off with family tribute and 6-7 dance at emotional final PMQs

The sight of a prominent Labour MP in tears during Prime Minister’s Questions was once enough to shake the economy.

If that was the case today, we’d be in an even worse state than the one that caused Liz Truss to resign in the middle of her term – the last PM to do so.

Labour’s Johanna Baxter and Carolyn Harris both sounded emotional as they paid tribute to Sir Keir Starmer during his final round of weekly questions in the House of Commons this afternoon.

And when I looked around as the PM paid tribute to his family in his last answer – slightly rushed, as he seemed in danger of breaking into tears himself – I saw Labour staff members and campaigners in the gallery wiping their eyes.

It was, frankly, quite touching.

There was none of the braggadocio seen in Boris Johnson’s final PMQs, where he signed off at the despatch box by growling: ‘Hasta la vista, baby!’

Instead, party leaders and backbenchers from across the house toned down the often vicious atmosphere of this session to wish well to a man who has spent two years in one of the country’s toughest jobs.

There were lighthearted gags about the football and Nigel Farage’s upcoming ‘Binface by-election’. Starmer did the 6-7 dance in response to a question about his viral moments. The House roared with laughter more than once – with the Tories’ Jesse Norman having a particularly great time.

And there were also heartfelt words for Ann Widdecombe in the wake of her horrific murder last week from Starmer, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, with Davey and the PM calling for a permanent memorial to her in Parliament.

(Neither of the two Reform MPs called to speak, Richard Tice and Danny Kruger, took the opportunity to pay their own respects.)

I can already see the social media comments, condemning these detached politicians for chortling away while the country continues to face crises on multiple fronts.

But PMQs is often brutal. If there’s any time to take a lighter approach, surely the final week before the leader departs and the government changes is it?

There seemed to be a consensus among everyone who spoke that Starmer may have made mistakes – many major mistakes – but he always tried to make the choices he believed was right for his country.

After Starmer’s bruising few weeks, or perhaps bruising couple of years, today was an opportunity to demonstrate that politics isn’t all about inflicting the most damage.

Because here’s a secret: a lot of these people quite like each other on a personal level. The PM spoke of his appreciation for Badenoch’s phone calls after the arson attack on his home and the death of his brother.

I’ve even heard Nigel Farage describe Keir Starmer as a ‘decent man’ when the cameras weren’t on – really!

To get anything done, these 650 individuals who sit in the House of Commons often need to find common ground and work together. And they do, to an extent the public might not fully appreciate.

Many of them, maybe even most of them, are genuinely in this business to make the country a better place. Those close to Starmer would say he falls firmly in this camp.

His efforts, though, resulted in his approval ratings collapsing and his party resorting to a coup. Maybe we should have always known it would end in tears.

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