Keir Starmer has branded Rishi Sunak the “blancmange prime minister” over his repeated U-turns in the face of Tory rebellions.
The prime minister was forced into two humiliating climbdowns in the space of 24 hours over housebuilding targets and onshore wind farms.
As the pair clashed at prime minister’s questions, Starmer accused Sunak of ditching the government’s target of building 300,000 new homes a year “without asking a single voter”.
The Labour leader said: “I’ll tell him what changed: his backbenchers threatened him.
“And, as always, the blancmange prime minister wobbled. He did a grubby deal with a handful of his MPs and sold out the aspirations of those who want to own their own home. Was it worth it?”
Sunak accused Starmer of “engaging in the petty personality politics”.
He added: “We’re delivering what I said we would do: we are protecting the character of local communities, we are cracking down on land banking and irresponsible developers. And we are giving people a greater say in their decisions.”
The PM was referring to a compromise he has reached with backbench Tories that will force local councils to take account of the “character” of local communities when deciding whether to approve new housing projects.
Previously, local authorities had to follow mandatory housing targets set by Whitehall.