First PMQs following several weeks of bad headlines for the government fact checked

View Email in Browser ([link removed])

Dear Friend,

In the newsletter this week...
1. ‘Politicians receiving ‘freebies’ vs the rules (#body1)
2. Social media misinformation widespread on Middle East conflict (#body2)
3. Government and news use NHS strike costs that aren’t quite right (#body3)
4. Politics Live blog (#liveblog)
5. Also this week... (#morefacts)

But first...

Today saw the first Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) since the parties concluded their conferences. It is set against the backdrop of the resignation of Sue Gray, Keir Starmer’s former Chief of Staff, and an ongoing leadership contest to select Rishi Sunak's replacement as Conservative leader.

We’ve seen several familiar claims that we have fact checked before ([link removed]) including:

Claim 1: Sir Keir Starmer said that the previous government left a “£22 billion black hole in the economy”.
* This comes from a Treasury audit in July which found an overspend above the totals set during the Spring Budget. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said that some of the shortfall was “predictable” but financial pressures do “genuinely appear to be greater than could be discerned from the outside” ([link removed]) .

Claim 2: Rishi Sunak claimed that under Labour “economic growth had stalled”.
* UK GDP saw no growth in July 2024—the only month for which data has been published since Labour was elected. But the UK economy had also seen no growth in June, when the Conservatives were still in government.

Claim 3: Mr Starmer said that “child poverty went up 700,000 since 2010”
* The number of children in relative poverty after housing costs rose by 700,000 between 2010/11 and 2022/23 but those in absolute poverty after housing costs didn’t change significantly. ([link removed]) The number of children in both relative and absolute poverty before housing costs also increased.

Claim 4: Mr Starmer said that the previous government’s plan to build 40 new hospitals “didn't involve 40, didn't involve hospitals and they weren’t new and they weren’t funded”.
* Exactly what counts as a new hospital may be a matter of opinion, but the last government set out a definition of the 40 and, using this, one project - the Dyson Cancer Centre in Bath - has been opened and counts towards the total.

The next few months are likely to be equally as busy with Labour’s first budget set to take place on 30 October, ongoing conflict in the Middle East and a highly competitive US Presidential election on 5 November.

Keep visiting Full Fact to ensure you have the correct information on the big claims made by the media, politicians and online influencers.
Best wishes,

Craig, Digital Campaigns Manager—Full Fact


** Politicians receiving ‘freebies’ vs the rules ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

[link removed]

The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and a number of other prominent Labour ministers have faced scrutiny in recent weeks for their acceptance of so-called “freebies” from donors and various organisations.

We look at the rules at what interests MPs must register, how guidance differs for government ministers and what changes have been proposed.
Read more ([link removed])
[ Back to top] (##emailtop)


** Social media misinformation widespread on Middle East conflict ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
A post on X, formerly Twitter, on 6 October, claims: “BREAKING NEWS UK PM Keir Starmer says that UK will boycott all diplomatic relations with Israel due to its long lasting war in Gaza,” alongside a photo of Mr Starmer speaking at a podium. It has more than 2,800 shares and some Facebook posts make the same claim. But this is false.

We’re also seeing a growing number of videos on social media about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East purportedly showing something they aren’t.

Examples:

Image does not show damaged ring belonging to killed Hezbollah leader ([link removed])

Video doesn’t show crowds at Israeli airport fleeing the country ([link removed])

Video of ‘Tel Aviv destroyed by Iran’ actually of Taiwan factory fire ([link removed])
Read more ([link removed])
[ Back to top] (##emailtop)
Support Full Fact

As a registered charity, Full Fact relies on donations from the public to support our independent, impartial fact checking and campaigning work.

Please support Full Fact by donating £10.

Donate £10 ([link removed])

Remind me next week ([link removed])


** Government and news use NHS strike costs that aren’t quite right ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]

In a statement last month following the end of the junior doctors’ strikes in England, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that NHS strikes in general had cost the taxpayer almost £1.7 billion since April 2023. This figure was repeated by health secretary Wes Streeting, the Daily Mail and BBC News.

The number isn’t quite right; the £1.7 billion does not include the junior doctors’ strikes of June and July 2024. A calculation using a broader definition of the cost to public funds might produce a different figure, but it's hard to be precise about this.

Read more ([link removed])
[ Back to top] (##emailtop)
Full Fact’s rolling blog of fact checks, commentary and analysis.
* We wrote in Politics Live last week that Full Fact had contacted the Home Office asking them to publish the immigration statistics used by Sir Keir Starmer in his Labour Party conference speech. ([link removed])
* On Tuesday 8 October, the Home Office once again used unpublished immigration statistics in a quote to the Daily Telegraph. ([link removed])
* On Wednesday 9 October the Home Office published immigration returns data ([link removed]) following Full Fact intervention.

* Old John Lewis advert has been altered to include a fake voiceover ‘by Kamala Harris’ ([link removed])
* Childhood vaccines aren’t ‘poison’ ([link removed])
* Photo of Kim Jong Un with Huawei phone has been edited ([link removed])

Read our latest fact checks ([link removed])
[ Back to top] (##emailtop)
Stop the spread of bad information

Find these updates useful? We'd be incredibly grateful if you could share our fact checks and help more people access good information.
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed] https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Ffullfact%2Fstarmer-is-grilled-by-the-commons Tweet ([link removed] https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Ffullfact%2Fstarmer-is-grilled-by-the-commons)
[link removed] Forward ([link removed])
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
All the best,
Team Full Fact


** How likely would you be to recommend that a friend, family member or colleague subscribes to receive emails from Full Fact?
------------------------------------------------------------
0 = Least likely - 10 = Most Likely
<a href="[link removed]" target="_blank"> 0</a><a href="[link removed]" target="_blank"> 1</a><a href="[link removed]" target="_blank"> 2</a><a href="[link removed]" target="_blank"> 3</a><a href="[link removed]" target="_blank"> 4</a><a href="[link removed]" target="_blank"> 5</a><a href="[link removed]" target="_blank"> 6</a><a href="[link removed]" target="_blank"> 7</a><a href="[link removed]" target="_blank"> 8</a><a href="[link removed]" target="_blank"> 9</a><a href="[link removed]" target="_blank"> 10</a>


============================================================
** Follow us ([link removed])
** Follow us ([link removed])
** Like us ([link removed])
** Follow us ([link removed])
Have any questions or feedback? Please ** get in touch via our contact form ([link removed])
. We do not respond to direct replies to this email address.

Find out ** how Full Fact is funded ([link removed])
.

Copyright © Full Fact 2024 - All rights reserved

A registered charity (no. 1158683) and a non-profit company (no. 6975984) limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales.

Our mailing address is:
17 Oval Way, London, SE11 5RR

We use Mailchimp to send you our emails and to see which articles are most popular. ** Read our privacy policy ([link removed])
or ** Mailchimp's privacy policy ([link removed])

** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
** update subscription preferences ([link removed])