VERDICT: Once again, Ed Miliband caught David Cameron out on an obscure point; this time about NHS reform. But, it was much too narrow a line of questioning and he had nothing to say on today’s other issues (Greece, Ken Clarke’s knife crime u-turn or tomorrow’s strikes etc.). Indeed, Labour was silent on the issue of tomorrow’s strikes and the economy. Cameron easily turned this to his advantage, painting Labour as being trapped in the pocket of the unions. Thus, was victory won from an awkward position.
12:30: Finally, a question Labour’s backbenchers about pension reform in the public sector, but it sounds like a half-hearted after-thought. Cameron defends his reforms, saying that he agrees with Lord Hutton that public sector pensions must be sustainable. And that’s it. My short verdict to follow.
12:26: Tory Alok Sharma asks a patsy about pension reform, comparing the government’s plans with Gordon Brown’s raid on private pensions. Cameron replies that he is “shocked that there hasn’t been so much as a squeak from the party opposite about pensions and strikes.” It’s all for show, of course, but Cameron does have a point: it is odd that Labour has said nothing about tomorrow’s strike and pension reform during this question time so far.
12:20: Robert Halfon asks about what the government will do to reduce the cost of petrol; he wants the government to impose a windfall tax on profits, in line with the national campaign he has founded. Cameron gives no such assurance, but replies that the government has taken steps to assist motorists: removing the fuel escalator, cutting duty and releasing IEA fuel reserves onto the market. Fuel remains a growing issue; surely it’s just a matter of time before Ed Balls jumps on the bandwagon?
12:15: Well into backbench questions now and there have been several stand-out contributions. First, Cameron tells Sir Peter Tapsell that he is using the proposed treaty changes in the EU to repatriate powers, but fails to identify which changes. Second, Cameron defends his government’s record investment in renewable energy and pledges to go further; that will unnerve heavy industry, which has to foot the majority of the bill for Cameron’s largesse. Third, Cameron fields one question about tomorrow’s strikes. He says this is the issue that the Labour party won’t talk about, despite only a small minority of unions taking part. Miliband ought to have at least one question on tomorrow’s strikes: he looks rather out of touch limiting his remarks to the minutiae of quangos that as yet do not exist.
12:10: Sure enough, Cameron uses his final response to attack Miliband’s microscopic outlook and turns it into a political point. “He can’t talk about strikes because he’s in the pocket on the unions,” blusters Cameron. He warms to the assault. “As Greece implodes, he can’t talk about the Economy because of his record and his ludicrous attempt at introducing tax cuts.” Finally, Cameron says, “he can only talk about the micro because he can’t talk about the macro.” A Cameron win, I feel.
12:08: It’s a clever line from Miliband (and doesn’t he just know it). But it ignores the fact the government is decentralising: the natural adjunct of breaking up PCTs is to create more institutions at a local level that are closer to the consumer, the GP consortia. Cameron makes this point. Miliband replies with four questions on job cuts in the NHS. Again, Cameron can’t give exact figures, but should he be able to? You get the sense that Miliband is driving himself into a tiny corner with this myopic approach; the big picture eludes him and with it accessibility.
12:04: Cameron can’t answer so Miliband answers for him. There are 163 statutory organisations at the moment; there will be 561 after the reforms. “Is this what the PM meant when he promised a bonfire of the quangos?” Crows the Leader of the Opposition, titilated by this outburst of wit amid wonkery.
12:02: Here’s Ed Miliband and it’s the drill as last time and the time before that. Obscure and detailed question about the number of statutory organisations in the NHS and how the NHS reforms will alter that number.
12:01: Tory Karen Lumley opens with a patsy about parents keeping a school open tomorrow. Cameron applauds them and condemns stirkes when negotiations are underway.
11:55: Stay tuned for live coverage from 12:00
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