(Bloomberg) -- The UK’s opposition Conservative Party tried and failed to force Prime Minister Keir Starmer into holding a national inquiry into a scandal surrounding so-called child grooming gangs.
After the billionaire Tesla boss Elon Musk pushed the decades-old issue of child sexual exploitation in British towns by abusers of predominantly Pakistani heritage onto UK newspaper front covers, the Tories sought on Wednesday to force the government into a deeper probe by putting forward an amendment to its Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
But with Starmer’s Labour Party, which enjoys a large majority in the House of Commons, opposing the move, the amendment fell by 111 votes to 364. Nevertheless, the prime minister’s spokesman earlier refused to rule out holding an inquiry in the future, while Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips — who has been a target of Musk’s social media attacks — told the Electoral Dysfunction podcast that “nothing is off the table,” suggesting victims could have such a probe if they want one.
The dispute highlights the impact Musk is already having on UK politics after he started 2025 with a salvo of posts on the social media platform X, which he owns, attacking the Labour government that’s been in power since July. He condemned Labour for rejecting an inquiry, criticized the premier’s previous record as the UK’s chief prosecutor, and hurled insults at Phillips. The Tories — who were in power for 14 years before Starmer’s win — then joined Musk’s calls for an inquiry.
Starmer argued that there had already been a 7-year inquiry that reported in late 2022, and that the Tories had failed to act on any of its 20 recommendations. Taking those forward should be prioritized over another lengthy investigation, he said.
Labour ministers also said that had the amendment passed, it would have stopped the bill — designed to improve protections for children — in its path.
Nevertheless, Labour’s stance for now has the potential to be awkward for the party’s Members of Parliament, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch earlier suggesting she intended to make political capital out of any vote to oppose her amendment by asking how they would justify to their constituents obeying party orders over “doing the right thing.”
Starmer, for his part, pointed to Badenoch’s past record as an MP and a minister in government representing children and women, saying “I can’t recall her once raising this issue in the house” before becoming opposition leader. Badenoch said she had raised the issue in speeches outside the chamber.
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