PMQs live: Starmer faces Badenoch after Labour insists India trade deal does not undercut British workers – UK Times

Keir Starmer is facing Kemi Badenoch at PMQs after Labour insisted the UK’s new trade deal with India does not undercut British workers.

It also marks the first session since both Labour and the Tories endured heavy losses in last week’s local elections.

The UK has been in talks with the Trump administration as part of an attempt to agree a carve out from tariffs, which are wreaking havoc on the global economy.

Trade negotiators have returned to Washington this week and officials told the Financial Times that the trade deal could be agreed in the next few days.

Political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Reform UK has also gained ground in Wales while support for Labour has collapsed, according to a new YouGov poll.

While Plaid Cymru leads the race for next year’s Senedd election, according to the YouGov/ITV Wales Welsh voting intention poll, Nigel Farage’s party is now in second place, with Labour far behind.

Plaid Cymru lead on 30 per cent of the vote for the May 2026 Senedd election, while Reform sits at 25 per cent, the figures revealed.

Meanwhile, Labour, who have won every previous devolved election, is in a distant third place on just 18 per cent, which is half the 36 per cent of the regional vote that they won back in 2021.

The Conservatives are even further back, sitting at only 13 per cent, which also marks half their vote share in the 2021 election.

Then the Lib Dems take 7 per cent, while the Greens sit at 5 per cent.

The government has refused to be drawn on reports the UK is closing in on a trade deal with the US.

The Financial Times reported an agreement could soon be reached that involves lower tariff quotas for cars and steel.

But a government spokesperson told The Independent: “The US is an indispensable ally and talks on an economic deal between the US and the UK are ongoing – but we are not going to provide a running commentary on the details of live discussions or set any timelines.

“We will continue to take a calm and steady approach to talks and aim to find a resolution to help ease the pressure on UK businesses and consumers.”

The government has insisted the new UK-India trade deal will involve “no impact” on the immigration system or immigration numbers.

The agreement includes some easing of rules on “business mobility” for temporary visitors and up to 1,800 chefs, yoga instructors and musicians providing contracted services.

Under the terms of the UK-India trade agreement, staff working for an Indian company who transferred to the UK for less than three years would pay into the Indian social security system rather than paying into both British and Indian systems as they do now.

UK workers temporarily in India would remain subject to national insurance, but be exempt from Indian social security levies.

Trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds pointed to similar deals with 50 other countries, including the EU, the US, Canada and Japan, saying that the previous Conservative government signed a similar deal exempting Chilean workers from national insurance for five years.

Seconding Indian staff to the UK will also involve additional costs such as the immigration health surcharge and relocation costs, Mr Reynolds said.

He added that the overall impact of the deal would mean more tax revenue for the treasury, and said he expected more UK workers to be seconded to India as a result of British companies gaining access to Indian government procurement contracts.

However, Kemi Badenoch claimed she had “refused to sign this deal” while trade secretary, in part due to the condition that some Indian and British workers will avoid paying national insurance for the first three years in their destination country.