Starmer: 'Gillian Keegan's £34m Whitehall Office Refurbishment Shows Reality of Indifferent Tories'

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The £34million overhaul of Education Secretary Gillian Keegan's offices shows the Tories don't care about spending enough to fix schools that are failing are collapsing, says Sir Keir Starmer.

The Labor leader has used PMQs to bully Rishi Sunak's government over the crumbling concrete crisis - arguing 'cowboys run the country' .

Ms Keegan said earlier this week she 'didn't know' £34million. was spent on refurbishing the department and insisted she 'wasn't involved'.

But Sir Keir - pointing to extravagant spending as ministers are criticized for 'under -investment" in schools - said it had her "staff stamp of approval".

"The Education Secretary has signed a contract to refurbish her offices. He has his personal stamp of approval. It cost - I can't believe it - £34m," he told the House of Commons.

Distancing the Prime Minister, he said: "Can he explain to parents whose children are out of school this week why he thinks a blank check for the office of a Tory minister is a better use of taxpayers' money than prevent schools from collapsing?

Mr. Sunak said he would 'make no apologies for acting decisively in the face of new information' regarding schools being closed over the Raac issue - adding that the government is doing 'everything it can to resolve this issue' quickly and minimize disruption”

Under pressure to explain why he proposed a budget of 50 schools a year – rather than the 200 a year requested by the Department for Education, the Prime Minister said: “ This spending review kept the program - it was completely consistent with what has happened before."

With the Prime Minister also under pressure because of this decision. to scrap the last Labor government's £55billion program to build schools for the future (BSF), Mr Sunak attacked the opposition's plan.

Mr. Sunak claimed that Labor had "only allocated funds purely on the basis of ideology, without any consideration". either with the physical condition of the schools".

Gillian Keegan reportedly called Starmer a "stupid man" in housing families

(PRU/AFP via Getty Images)

Ms Keegan – who was...