London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Mar 12, 2026

Boris Johnson hits back at critics over social care at stormy PMQs

Boris Johnson hits back at critics over social care at stormy PMQs

Boris Johnson batted away opposition calls for him to stand down and defended himself against accusations of "broken promises" at PMQs.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer challenged the PM on social care funding, rail investment and tax.

Picking up on reports of Tory disquiet after the PM's chaotic speech to business leaders, he asked: "Is everything OK, prime minister?"

The PM said the government was "delivering for...working people".

The Conservative benches were packed for the exchanges, in contrast to last week's session.

"I see they have turned up this week prime minister," said Sir Keir, prompting uproar on all sides and an intervention from Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who ordered MPs to calm down.

Several MPs have told the BBC that they were urged by party managers, via text or phone call, to attend Prime Minister's Questions to support Mr Johnson.

Sir Keir repeatedly claimed the government's plans for social care funding broke a Conservative manifesto pledge that nobody would have to sell their home to pay for care.

"He's picked the pockets of working people to protect the estates of the wealthiest," said the Labour leader, adding: "How could he have devised a working class dementia tax?"

Mr Johnson said homes will not be included in the cap on costs, adding that Labour did not have a plan to solve the problem.

The prime minister said the government's "huge investment" in health and social care meant people will be able to insure themselves against the "catastrophic cost" of suffering from diseases such as dementia.

Sir Keir also accused Mr Johnson of breaking a promise not to raise taxes - and to deliver a "rail revolution" in the North of England, despite now cancelling the northern leg of HS2.

"Who knows if he'll make it to the next election, but if he does, how can he expect anyone to take his promises seriously?," asked the Labour leader.

Mr Johnson insisted there would be a rail revolution, and claimed the government was spending £96bn on upgrading links.

And he said Sir Keir had campaigned against HS2 - which runs through his Holborn and St Pancras constituency - adding that he had backed the new high speed rail link even though it affected his own constituents, because it was in the national interest.

"How can they trust that man?" he asked.

Johnson not yet derailed

Talk of ousting the PM seems fanciful. He has a track record of bouncing back from adversity.

But it is worth noting that loud cheers from a leader's own side does not mean that underlying concerns have evaporated.

The former Conservative leader, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, was greeted by regular, co-ordinated standing ovations at his party conference, but that didn't prevent MPs quietly but definitively submitting letters of no confidence.

The mood at the moment though seems to be for the current Conservative leader to get a grip rather than to get out.

While Mr Johnson was on the back foot at PMQs, he nonetheless managed to step up attacks on the Labour leader too - the most effective of which was to suggest that HS2 would never have been built at all if Sir Keir Starmer had got his way.

Boris Johnson's premiership has looked juddery recently, but hasn't yet been derailed.

The SNP's Westminster Leader, Ian Blackford, also seized on reports of Tory disquiet with the PM's recent performance, accusing him of "floundering in failure" and asking him if he had "considered calling it a day".

"In the real world, people are suffering a Tory cost of living crisis, Brexit is hitting the economy hard, but the prime minister can't even give a coherent speech to business leaders," he added.

He asked why Mr Johnson was "clinging on when he quite clearly isn't up to the job".

The prime minister said the British public wanted to hear less about politics and more about what the government is doing "for the people of Scotland".

Earlier, deputy PM Dominic Raab praised Mr Johnson's "ebullient, bouncy, optimistic, Tiggerish character", saying it "livens up" his speeches.

He said there was a "steeliness" to the prime minister, adding: "We work as a team", and he dismissed the criticism as Westminster "tittle tattle".

Mr Johnson appeared before the CBI conference earlier this week to make his pitch for a "green industrial revolution" to business, including support for electric cars, investing in wind power and the government's integrated rail plan.

But it drew more negative attention after his impression of a car and his personal anecdote from a trip to Peppa Pig World.

"I was a bit hazy about what I would find at Peppa Pig World, but I loved it," he told the conference. "Peppa Pig World is very much my kind of place.

"It has very safe streets, discipline in schools, a heavy emphasis on mass transit systems I noticed, even if they are a bit stereotypical about Daddy Pig."

Asked after the speech, "is everything OK?", Mr Johnson said he thought people had "got the vast majority of the points" he wanted to make and that the speech "went over well".

It comes after a few weeks of turbulence at Westminster.

The PM backed attempts to overhaul the standards system for MPs' conduct, blocking the suspension of Tory MP Owen Paterson - who had been found to have broken lobbying rules.

No 10 performed a U-turn on the move following a furious backlash from MPs, including some Conservatives.

But the fall-out led to accusations about sleaze, and wider questions about MPs' second jobs.

The PM came under further pressure this week over the cost cap element of his social care plan, which charities warned could unfairly hit people with fewer assets.

MPs backed the proposals, but it was only a narrow victory for Mr Johnson thanks to a significant Tory rebellion.


PMQs: Sir Keir Starmer claims the PM has devised a "working class dementia tax" to pay for health and social care costs



Watch: The prime minister is asked if he's OK after talking about Peppa Pig in a speech to business leaders


Justice Secretary Dominic Raab: 'The prime minister is a Tiggerish character'



Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Release of Mandelson Files Raises Tensions as UK Seeks Stable Relations With Donald Trump
UK Documents Reveal Starmer Was Warned About Mandelson’s Epstein Links Before Ambassador Appointment
Nearly Five Hundred UK Mortgage Deals Withdrawn in Two Days as Market Volatility Forces Lenders to Reprice
Three Cargo Ships Hit Near Iran as Attacks Spread to Strategic Strait of Hormuz
Why British Police Repeatedly Declined to Investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s UK Links
UK Parliament Ends Hereditary Seats in House of Lords, Closing Chapter on Centuries of Aristocratic Lawmaking
EU and UK Urge Israel to Act Against Rising West Bank Settler Violence Amid Regional Tensions
US Senator John Kennedy Says Keir Starmer Should Not Be Trusted for Military Advice Amid Iran War Debate
UK High Court Rejects Attempt to Revive Terrorism Charge Against Kneecap Rapper
Revolut Secures Full UK Banking Licence After Multi-Year Regulatory Wait
Kentucky’s Bench Boost Powers Wildcats Past LSU in SEC Tournament Opener
British Couple Die After Being Pulled From Water at Australian Beach During Family Visit
Global Energy Agency Announces Record Release of 400 Million Barrels to Stabilize Oil Markets Amid Hormuz Disruption
British Airways Suspends UK Repatriation Flights as Middle East Travel Disruption Deepens
US Forces Prepare Ordnance at RAF Fairford as Strategic Bombers Deploy for Middle East Operations
Nigel Farage Faces Criticism After Saying Britain Should Stay Out of Iran War
Landmark UK Trial Begins Over Sony’s PlayStation Store Pricing
UK High Court Rejects Bid to Challenge Britain’s Chagos Islands Agreement With Mauritius
Finnish Duo Triumphs in England’s Annual Wife-Carrying Race, Winning a Barrel of Ale
How U.S. and UK National Security Strategies Are Reshaping the Global Business Landscape
Green Party Gains Momentum as Labour Shifts Toward the Political Centre
Royal Navy Destroyer HMS Dragon Sets Sail for Eastern Mediterranean as Regional Tensions Rise
UK Homebuilder Persimmon Warns Iran Conflict Could Dent Property Buyer Confidence
Roman Abramovich Signals Legal Fight if UK Seeks to Seize Chelsea Sale Funds
UK Ready to Back Emergency Oil Reserve Release as Middle East Conflict Pushes Prices Higher
Study of 40,000 Articles Sparks Debate Over Alleged Anti-Muslim Bias in UK Media
US and UK Army Chiefs Strengthen Cooperation on the Future of Armored Warfare
Britain’s Search for the Next ARM Intensifies as Startups and Investors Target the Semiconductor Frontier
Three US Strategic Bombers Arrive at RAF Fairford as Iran Conflict Intensifies
Cancer Death Rates in the UK Fall to the Lowest Level on Record
UK Government Bond Yields Retreat Slightly After Sharp Spike Triggered by Middle East Conflict
UK Chancellor Warns Middle East War Could Push Inflation Higher
UK Prime Minister Warns Iran Conflict Could Drive Up Prices and Threaten Economic Stability
Trump Declines UK Offer to Deploy Aircraft Carriers to Middle East Amid Iran Conflict
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Return to Australia After Seven Years for Philanthropic and Business Engagements
UK Government Signals Independence From Washington as Cooper Says Britain Does Not Agree With Trump on Every Issue
UK Experts Warn AI Chatbots Are Fueling Surge in Claims of Organised ‘Satanic’ Ritual Abuse
UK Political Parties Divided Over Strategy as Iran Conflict Reshapes Foreign Policy Debate
Britain Discloses Secret Military Repair Hubs Operating Inside Ukraine
Trump Says US No Longer Needs UK Carrier Support After Delayed Offer Amid Iran Conflict
Why Britain Has Become Involved in the US-Israel Military Campaign Against Iran
UK Gas Storage Falls to Under Two Days as Iran Conflict Jolts Global Energy Markets
UK Warned to Brace for Economic Shock as Iran War Drives Global Energy Price Surge
Starmer and Trump Hold First Call After Public Dispute Over Iran Conflict
UK Dentists Returned £1.3 Billion to Government as Shift Toward Private Care Accelerates
Expert Warns UK Must Build Emergency Food Stockpiles to Prepare for Climate Shocks or War
UK Plans Charter Flight to Evacuate British Nationals from Gulf as Regional Conflict Disrupts Air Travel
Families of Zimbabwe’s Liberation Fighters Call on Britain to Help Locate Skulls Taken During Colonial War
Iran’s Ambassador Warns Britain to ‘Be Very Careful’ Over Deeper Role in Expanding Middle East War
UK Military Leadership Defends Britain’s Defensive Role in Expanding Middle East Conflict
×