Political legacies are usually contested line by line, but at Sir Keir Starmer’s final Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, friend and foe converged on a single moment.
Kemi Badenoch, who has spent two years attacking his record, told the Commons the one thing she did admire was his decision to invite Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Downing Street after the Ukrainian president’s bruising Oval Office clash with Donald Trump.
Starmer’s reply gave the chamber its defining line:
“I had a meeting with him to tell him that in this country we will stand with him and Ukraine, and I didn’t let him leave alone,” he said. “I walked him out to his car because we don’t let people in Britain walk out of our buildings, we escort them out.”
He recalled crowds at the Downing Street gates cheering as Zelenskyy hugged him, the British public telling the Ukrainian leader exactly what they thought of his treatment in Washington.
The session carried unusual weight beyond nostalgia. It opened with tributes to Ann Widdecombe, whose alleged murder last week stunned Westminster, with Starmer proposing a Commons shield in her honour and warning that “we must do more to defend our democracy.”
The personal notes ran deep, too. Starmer thanked Badenoch for her kindness after his brother’s death and the arson attack on his family home, told the country’s unseen and unheard, they were the reason he entered politics, and said “I love you” to his wife Victoria and their children watching from the gallery. She wiped away tears as he left to a standing ovation.
🚨 WATCH: Kemi Badenoch and Keir Starmer exchange friendly remarks as he marks his final ever PMQs
“The PM showed leadership when inviting Zelenskyy to No 10 after his clash with Donald Trump” #PMQs pic.twitter.com/6Tf1zU1eA6
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) July 15, 2026
Starmer insisted he leaves Britain in better shape than he found it, a claim Andy Burnham inherits when he becomes prime minister on July 20.
History will argue the record. The Zelenskyy walk to the car may prove the image that outlasts the argument. iShareNews will cover the transition.
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