82%
Imprecise
Can the Prime Minister tell us how many more people are out of work and claiming Universal Credit since he took office? ... The number is 1.5 million.
The Universal Credit caseload did rise by roughly 1.5 million since July 2024, but the 'out of work' framing is misleading. The UK Statistics Authority formally corrected Badenoch, noting about 1.1 million of that 1.5 million were people already out of work who were simply migrated onto Universal Credit from legacy benefits under a managed-migration process that predates this government. The headline number is broadly right; the attribution is not.
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70%
Imprecise
Why on his watch, for the first time ever, we are now spending more on welfare than we earn in income tax?
OBR figures show welfare spending (around £333bn in 2025/26) narrowly overtook income-tax receipts (around £331bn), so the core comparison holds for that year. But 'for the first time ever' is misleading: on the broad welfare measure (which includes the state pension) spending has exceeded income tax in several earlier years, and the OBR expects income tax to move back above welfare in 2026/27.
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80%
True
When they came into power, defense spending was 2.5%, and when they left power, it was 2.3%.
UK defence spending was around 2.4–2.5% of GDP in 2010, when the Conservative-led government took office, and had fallen to about 2.3% of GDP by 2024 (NATO definition) when Labour returned. The direction and end-point figure are accurate within normal rounding.
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75%
True
This is the Labour government that increased defense spending to the highest sustained spend since the Cold War.
In February 2025 the government committed to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and described it, in its own official announcement, as 'the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War'. Starmer is repeating the government's own framing of that commitment.
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68%
True
Yesterday, we learned that the cost of government borrowing is now the highest in two decades.
In early 2026 UK gilt yields rose sharply, with the 10-year yield crossing 5% — reported as the highest since the 2008 financial crisis — and the 30-year yield reaching levels not seen since the late 1990s. 'Highest in two decades' is a fair characterisation of borrowing costs at that point.
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72%
Imprecise
At the Spring Statement, the Chancellor was very proud to say inflation was down to 3% and falling.
CPI inflation was 3.0% in the 12 months to February 2026, so the '3%' figure around the Spring Statement is accurate. But 'and falling' is not borne out: ONS data show CPI rose to 3.3% in March 2026, so inflation was ticking up rather than falling at that time.
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70%
True
Experts are warning that food prices will rise by 10% this year as farmers' costs soar.
Industry forecasts in 2026, including from the Food and Drink Federation, warned that food inflation could reach around 9–10% by the end of 2026, driven by rising farm input and energy costs. Davey's '10% this year' is consistent with those warnings.
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60%
Imprecise
Under the system brought in by the Conservatives, England is the only country in Europe where farm payments don't actively support farmers to produce food.
England has gone furthest in Europe in moving from area/production-based direct payments to 'public money for public goods' under ELMS, so the underlying point has substance. But 'the only country' overstates it: Wales is also phasing out direct payments, while Scotland and Northern Ireland retain them. The characterisation is broadly directionally right but not literally accurate.
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82%
True
Today I can announce a significant new investment by AstraZeneca investing 300 million pounds in UK life sciences ... jobs in Macclesfield and in Cambridge.
AstraZeneca confirmed in April 2026 that it would proceed with a roughly £300 million UK investment across its Cambridge and Macclesfield sites, reversing an earlier pause. The announcement, linked to the UK–US pharmaceutical arrangement, matches the figure and locations cited by the Prime Minister.
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75%
True
Waiting list lowest for 3 years. That didn't happen for 14 years. ... Fastest ambulance response in half a decade.
NHS England reported in February 2026 that the elective waiting list had fallen to its lowest level in almost three years (since early 2023). Category 1 and Category 2 ambulance response times in early 2026 were also faster than the previous year, and the longest (52-week) waits were the lowest since 2020, supporting the broad claims.
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85%
True
He kicked out his predecessor, and then lost 39 MPs at the next election.
The SNP fell from 48 seats at the 2019 general election to 9 seats at the 2024 general election, a net loss of exactly 39 MPs. Stephen Flynn became SNP Westminster leader in December 2022 after replacing Ian Blackford, so the figure of 39 lost seats at the subsequent election is accurate.
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