A harrowing session at PMQs. Rishi Sunak seemed subdued and de-energised. His fizz had gone flat. The usual hip-wriggling shuffle at the despatch had been replaced with a hunched, anxious pose. Heavy shoulders. Head drooping. The Middle East crisis has snapped his elastic.
The issue Sir Keir had ducked was Gaza. Too hot to handle
Sir Keir, by contrast, was beaming like a City embezzler celebrating his daughter’s wedding. Spreading one arm wide, he turned munificently towards his backbenchers and welcomed the victors from last week’s by-elections. He poked fun at the defeated Tory in Tamworth, Andrew Cooper, who had dismissed the complaints of voters who can’t buy food but can afford a mobile phone.
Sir Keir said that Labour won last week because it ‘had not told constituents to eff off if they’re struggling with the cost of living.’ He pulled a look of outrage. ‘Throwing expletives at struggling families?’ he tutted.
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