The quick, capsule review of today’s PMQs: Brown was embarrassing. Cameron tore him apart.
Now for a bit more detail. Cameron led on the humanitarian situation in Burma – the stories coming from that stricken country are getting worse by the day, and the Prime Minister gave his assurances that he’s working to increase the amount of aid reaching the ground. Ok, so he doesn’t seem to have achieved much so far, but Cameron rightly declined from engaging in political tittle-tattle over it.
Next came Crewe and Nantwich, and Cameron brought it all back to the 10p tax issue. Will Alistair Darling’s compensation package only apply for one year? If so, what of the IFS finding that 18 million families will find themselves worse off next year? And this is where Brown bombed. His stock answer to these questions? “We have announced a £2.7 billion package to help 22 million people in this country – will the Tories confirm whether they support it?”. So, no answer at all, really – just unadulterated clunk. And as Cameron rightly pointed out it’s for the Prime Minister to answer questions here, so the Tory leader was free to deliver his pre-prepared lines: “It’s just one tax con followed by another,” and the killer:
“The Labour Party will never be taken seriously again as the party of low and middle income earners.”
He’ll be hoping that gets an airing on the TV news tonight, particularly in the homes of Crewe and Nantwich.
There was yet more on the by-election. Why hasn’t Brown visited the constituency? Brown: “it’s the tradition that Prime Ministers don’t go to by-elections”. An opening for Cameron to quote Tony Blair:
“I have never understood the recent convention that Prime Ministers stay away from by-elections. I’m joining the campaign trail, because this by-election matters. I believe in leading from the front”
At which point, I’m sure a few Labour MPs would have recalled the words of the Bard of Whitehall: “In Downing Street upon the stair…”
And that – save for another invisible performance from Nick Clegg – was that.
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