Welcome to this week’s Coffee House PMQs live blog. What to expect? Well, as always, there’s plenty for the party leaders to say on the economy – particularly in light of Cameron’s speech yesterday, and the news today that the economy may have shrunk by 1 percent in the 3 months to November. I’d be fairly surprised if welfare reform doesn’t feature as well.
1205: Here’s Gordon. Alison Seabeck starts: “Businesses and small businesses have welcomed the measures introduced during the downturn…” A question which lets Brown say “We will take action, [they Tories] would do nothing.”
1207: Cameron now. Returns to the theme of a few weeks ago: has the bailout freed up credit for small businesses? Brown slips up. He means to say: “We’ve not only saved the banks” but says “We’ve not only saved the world” instead. Much laughter from the Tory benches.
1209: Snappy retort from Cameron: “Well, it’s now on the record. He’s so busy thinking about saving the world, that he’s forgotten about small businesses in this country.” The Tory leader pushes the issue, bringing out a case study of a small company which now faces higher interest rates etc. This is effective stuff. Brown waffles. Tries to reduce things into a “fiscal stimulus” vs “do nothing” argument.
1212: Cameron brings out a quote from the Council of Mortgage Lenders saying that the government’s measures are “conflicting”. Brown repeats a line from a few weeks back: “I’m sorry I have to teach [Cameron] about how the economy works”. Novice, do-nothing, yada, yada, yada.
1215: Cameron: “On the day Brown’s copying our welfare reforms…”. Politically effective message, perhaps, but the timeline for these welfare reforms doesn’t quite support Cameron’s claim.
1217: Much as in his speech yesterday, Cameron’s trying to deflect the “do-nothing” attack. Says: “How can you accuse us of doing nothing, when we’re annoucning a multi-£million package to help businesses.”
1218: Here it is. Brown’s deploying the “Tory cuts” attack. Says Cameron’s non-commitment to Labour’s 2010 spending levels means closed hospitals, schools etc.
1219: Clegg’s line that “Recently a single mother came to see me in Sheffield…” gets the House laughing – I guess they have his infamous GQ interview in mind. Hm. To be honest, this is a fairly childish PMQs. Plenty of tittle tattle. Clegg is undterred. Moves onto the unfairness of the tax credits system.
1221: Brown says that if Clegg’s committed to ending child poverty, then he should support tax credits. The emotive term “child poverty” is often deployed to end debate.
1223: David Amess asks an important question on what the Government’s doing to help old people get through the winter. Brown lists Winter Fuel measures.
1225: Back bench questions on student loan repayments, businesses and welfare reform.
1227: Phil Willis brings up the issue of the televised assistant suicide of Craig Newart. “Is this programme in the public interest?” he asks.
1229: Andrew Robathan repeats the theme of credit for small businesses. Refers to letters he’s received from companies in his constituency, saying that the government’s recent measures have made things worse for them.
1231: Questions on child abuse and heart disease. Brown gets in another dig at “Tory cuts”.
1234: More on getting credit to small businesses. This has been the major theme of this PMQs.
1235: That’s it. James Purnell’s up now with a statement on the welfare White Paper.
VERDICT: A good performance from Cameron. The small business theme is a neat way to undermine Brown’s financial and economic management more generally. The question now is whether the charges will stick. For his part, Brown’s doing everything to make sure they don’t. Perhaps more so than ever, all we’re getting from the PM is slogan after slogan after slogan: “Tory cuts”; “Do-nothing” party etc. It’s not pretty, but recent polls suggest it may be effective. Sadly, Clegg didn’t continue his recent run of good PMQs performances – but, in that respect, he wasn’t helped by the House and its derision.
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