07 November 2023 , 11:56
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Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer were forced to share an awkward exchange as the pair walked side-by-side before the King's Speech.
The exchange of pleasantries came ahead of the monarch's address to Parliament setting out the Government's agenda for the months ahead of the next general election.
The PM and the Labour leader could be seen chatting and buttoning their suit jackets during the formal procession from the House of Commons to the House of Lords on Tuesday. The pair led other MPs, including Deputy leader Angela Rayner, the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, the Deputy PM Oliver Dowden, and the SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn.
With a general election expected next year, Mr Sunak has put a series of criminal justice laws at the heart of the speech as he attempts to draw dividing lines with Labour. But after 13 years in power the Tories continue to trail Labour in the national polls and have suffered a series of humiliating by-election defeats in recent months.
Ahead of the King's Speech - the first since Charles III came to the throne - Mr Starmer said: "Britain is crying out for the long-term change that harnesses the ambition of our young people, the innovative drive of our businesses, and the ordinary hope and optimism that exists around every kitchen table.
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"A government acting in the national interest would deliver a big build programme to kickstart growth in every region and begin to turn around 13 years of decline with a plan for a decade of national renewal. "The Tories can't fix the country because they've already failed. With a legacy of stagnant growth, sky-rocketing mortgages, soaring prices and crumbling schools and hospitals, Rishi Sunak admits the country needs to change; but this government cannot deliver it.
"The choice facing the country is between a changed Labour Party, hungry to change the country through an exciting programme of long-term reform, and a Tory Party with only gimmicks, division, and more of the same."
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