PMQs audioblog | 9 October 2013

Here’s the main exchange between David Cameron and Ed Miliband at PMQs today:- After wishing the Prime Minister a happy birthday, Ed made the debate all about his energy price cap policy. By PMQs standards it was a reasonably informed one, but neither Cameron nor Miliband are on a strong footing when it comes to energy price rises: they’ve both been in governments where prices have soared and little has been done about it. There was a droll exchange between Richard Ottaway and the Prime Minister over scrap metal. Ottaway asked the Prime Minister to welcome the new Scrap Metal Dealers Act (‘It’ll make the trains run on time’). Cameron welcomed the bill: ‘The lead off the Witney Church roof was stolen recently, and I know this is going to help make sure it doesn’t happen again.’ He sat down to cries of ‘give it back’. At the end of the session Ed Balls made a point of order: Cameron had said all married couples who were basic rate taxpayers would benefit. Would the Prime Minister like to correct the record? Cameron responded, but not to Balls’ satisfaction:

David Cameron got his facts wrong on the married couples tax break. Refused to correct the record. Typical.

— Ed Balls (@edballs) October 9, 2013