This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Labour MPs heaped praise on Yvette Cooper’s performance at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, during which the former shadow home secretary attacked Theresa May for breaking her promise not to hold a snap general election.

The whirlwind of supportive comments from Labour colleagues will fuel speculation the MP is already laying the ground for a second leadership bid, given the prevailing feeling in the parliamentary party that Labour should choose a woman as its next leader if Jeremy Corbyn loses on 8 June.

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“The prime minister said yesterday that she was calling a general election because parliament was blocking Brexit, but three-quarters of this parliament voted for article 50 and two-thirds of the Lords voted for article 50, so that’s not true, is it?” Cooper said during the exchange.

“A month ago she told her official spokesman to rule out an election and that wasn’t true either, was it? She wants us to believe that she is a woman of her word but isn’t the truth that we cannot believe a single word she says?”

The question was met with roars from Labour MPs, with the prime minister looking momentarily wounded. “The Labour party made it clear that they were thinking of voting against the final deal, the Scottish Nationalists have said that they will vote against the legislation necessary to leave the EU, the Liberal Democrats say they’re going to grind government to a standstill and the Lords have threatened to stop us at every step of the way,” May said.

The Scottish secretary, David Mundell, seated next to the prime minister, appeared to shout “leadership pitch!” during Cooper’s question.

botchera (@botchera) Yvette Cooper got called this today for asking a question in PMQ's! Disgraceful behaviour. #PMQs #politics pic.twitter.com/Fwdd2WbkLK

David Mundell (@DavidMundellDCT) For all you Twitter lip readers out there, I said "Leadership Pitch" after Yvette Copper's PMQ. Don't think I was only one to think that!

Among the Labour MPs praising her performance on Twitter were the shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, Roberta Blackman-Woods, former deputy leader Harriet Harman, Ilford South’s Mike Gapes, Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw, Cardiff Central’s Jo Stevens, and Stoke-on-Trent Central’s new MP, Gareth Snell.

Bradshaw called it “another cracker of a question from my great colleague”. Tottenham MP David Lammy tweeted:

David Lammy (@DavidLammy) 🔥🔥🔥🔥 @YvetteCooperMP skewering the Tories. This is nothing about Brexit and the national interest and all about her own party interest https://t.co/9LIaOvNEr3

Jack Dromey MP (@JackDromeyMP) Brilliant question by @YvetteCooperMP at #pmqs. @theresa_may repeatedly ruled out an early #GeneralElection. You can't trust a word she says

Chris Bryant MP (@RhonddaBryant) Theresa May really stung by @YvetteCooperMP . How can we trust a word May says?

Toby Perkins MP (@tobyperkinsmp) The look on T May's face said it all. She knows @YvetteCooperMP line "we can't trust a word she says" will follow her for the next 7 weeks. https://t.co/MaRBwfcxRi

Cooper, who chairs the home affairs select committee, has had a run of tough questions at PMQs, with a band of supportive MPs cheering the efforts. The former Labour leadership contender, who came third behind Corbyn and Andy Burnham, also gave a rousing speech to MPs at Tuesday night’s meeting of the parliamentary Labour party, stressing the need for unity against the Tories.

MPs have praised her previous backbench contributions, including on chancellor Philip Hammond’s U-turn on national insurance contributions after the budget. “The prime minister has just done a £2bn U-turn in a week; last year, the government did a £4bn U-turn in five days. Is that why they want to abolish spring budgets, because they just keep ripping them up?” she said at the time.

Cooper’s repeated interventions on child refugees, including pushing the government to reconsider halting the transfer of lone children from European refugee camps under the Dubs amendment, have also won admiration.