Overview
- Farage observed this week’s session from a gallery above the Commons and said he will stay out of the chamber for Prime Minister’s Questions until he is called to ask one.
- He has been selected to question the prime minister six times since the 2024 election, far fewer than Kemi Badenoch and Ed Davey, under a randomized PMQs ballot that offers 15 backbench slots.
- GB News tallied 20 instances this year in which Keir Starmer or Labour MPs criticised Farage during PMQs, which he cites as the reason for his boycott.
- Labour MPs and others mocked the move and highlighted his attendance record, while figures on the right, including Suella Braverman, argued he should be called more often.
- A separate row developed over reports that some Liberal Democrat MPs shared their planned PMQs questions with No 10 in advance, drawing Conservative complaints and denials from Lib Dem figures.