You are here: Home » Comment »

PMQs verdict: Parliament can do better than this – and it must

June 13, 2012 1:11 pm

Author:

Tags:

Share this Article

What kind of country are we living in, if our parliamentarians can’t treat each other with basic decency?

I’m not, for once, complaining about the boorish jeering that washes down from the green benches each Wednesday. Although it’s a largely counterproductive practice, it’s not explicitly rude.

Yet rudeness was the order of the day this lunchtime. Barely one female MP was able to get through their question to the PM before the chattering of their fellow MPs began to reach distracting levels. And yet the same noise seems curiously absent when a male MP takes their turn. What on earth do they have to say to each other that is a) so interesting and b) can’t wait?

Are the questions of female MPs not of equal worth to those of their female colleagues? This I doubt very much.

Yet it is perhaps fitting that PM is at least as rude as some of his “honourable” colleagues. Steve Rotherham, one of the few MPs in the house who has an identifiable regional accent, asked a question. It wasn’t one of the best you’ll ever hear. The thrust was “why are you do rubbish Prime Minister?”. It was no better or worse than all of the planted “Why are you do great?” questions coming from the government benches. Yet both question and questioner were treated with absolute contempt.

Rotherham should be reading poetry, said Cameron.

What on earth was that meant to mean? Stay classy Dave, in every sense of the word.

The Labour benches cried that Cameron was a snob – and what other explanation could there be for such a crass attack?

How can we trust a man to run our country in the best interests of the majority when he can’t even treat fellow parliamentarians with a modicum of decency?

—–

Now you’re probably wondering why I haven’t concentrated on the exchange between Miliband and Cameron this week. That’s largely because it was pretty poor, inside the bubble fluff. Alan Allan. Leveson. Jeremy Hunt. Important, sure, and the Lib Dems in particular should be pulled up over their cowardice on this. But is this really the most important
issue of the day? Tory MP Douglas Carswell tweeted:

“Leveson. Leveson. Media bubble blah blah. Anyone in this chamber realise the economy is stuffed and we’re on debt precipice?”

Stuffed indeed. But to listen to PMQs today, with its rudeness and spite and too much focus on issues only of relevance to the political and media elite, you’d never know that was the case.

Parliament can do better than this. And it must.

Related posts:

  1. PMQs verdict – Ed’s best week
  2. PMQS verdict: Slowly but surely, Ed Miliband is getting better at PMQs
  3. PMQs verdict: An unedifying spectacle
  4. PMQs verdict: Miliband lets Cameron off the hook
  5. PMQs verdict: Desperate Dave and the Mystery Medic
  • http://twitter.com/QuigTheDude Chris McQ

    No one can defend Cameron and his Flashman attitude for rudeness, but the poetry jibe was because Steve stood up and read from a small piece of paper…like a a poetry reading. I guess that’s what Cameron was getting at. Similar to his “well read” comment a few months back.

    • mactheanti

      So now Cameron is expecting everyone to understand this nonsense? Obviously they don’t and once again Cameron came over as rude and boorish and he failed to answer one single question from opposition MPs or his own MPs that were not plants.

      • treborc1

         I think it was also about children reading poetry at school, in other words a bit of a child reading.

  • Newham Sue

    Well noted, Mark. In his excellent book, ‘Chavs’ Owen Jones picked up on the way Tory MPs also patronised Prescott for his working class roots, so today’s comments were nothing new.

    On a more general level, though, I can’t help feeling the kind of predictable, knee-jerk horn-locking that goes on – whether between the benches in the Commons or in  the comments section on ‘Labour List’, can really stifle creative debate, making politics a switch-off for many.  

    It’s so easy to be sucked in, but if I’ve learned one lesson from my week of comment it’s when debate reaches that level, make your point and move on. Do not engage.

    • mactheanti

      This is something I have mentioned on many occasions “Mine’s a G&T waiter” and also Tory MPs used to taunt the late Mo Mowlem about the weight she had put on, completely ignoring the fact she was being treated for a brain tumour with steroids and they have also ridiculed a disabled member and Cameron and Osborne have come very near the mark in taunting Ed Balls about his stammer. Frankly above any other disrespectful behaviour in the House, the Tories lead the way and now they have a great leader in doing so in David Cameron. Unpleasant bullies the lot of them.

  • Walter

    Oh for goodness sake Mark, do you honestly think PMQs is supposed to be a rigid scrutiny session of the executive by the opposition benches? PMQs in its recent history has always been about the government and the opposition trying to bolster and rally.

    • treborc1

       Yes and looking like a bunch of children who should be in the playground behind the bike shed, reading poetry.

      The real trouble is that no minister can end an argument , they do not have that final put down the killer put down, the knock out blow, mainly because they are all the same. I miss Prescott

  • Cari_esky

    The problem at the moment is Cameron.  He said things before the election that he now disregards or has completely forgotten, which forgetfulness seems to be a thing for Cameron at the moment.  He wanted to rid The House Of Commons from Punch and Judy table tennis but he is exacerbating it.  I would think there is no better person than Ed Miliband for Cameron to work with to end Punch and Judy politics.   The thing is I don’t think it is in Cameron’s nature to end it.

  • http://twitter.com/robertsjonathan Jonathan Roberts

    On Steve Rotherham, usual Labour sources are making out it was a class-attack.  I honestly didn’t read it as such, it was a crap joke about how Rotherham was reading a crap question.  It’s very easy to read too much into things.

    I noticed Rotherham tweeted about how the PM is a ‘poshboy’, which is a class-based attack in itself.  Labour can’t play the class card if it is simultaneously attacking other people’s class.

  • billbat

    If Douglas Carswell thinks the economy is stuffed he should be calliing on     Cameron to sack Osborne.

  • http://twitter.com/News_Watcher_ News_Addict

    I notice it mentions nothing about Ed Balls who goades and shouts personal abuse repetatively across the despatch box.

    It’s common knowledge that the man is a thug.

    • treborc1

      I oh so wish Ball’s was a thug at least he would look as if he’s interested.

  • Chilbaldi

    The main issue of today’s PMQs has nothing to do with Steve Rotheram (who by the way did himself an injustice today with his poor reading of a scripted questions, given that he is a good and able MP).

    the main issue is the poor delivery and lack of punch of Ed Miliband who, gifted with golden subject matter, produced a meek display. He isn’t cut out for dispatch box politics.

  • http://twitter.com/KulganofCrydee Kulgan of Crydee

    A fair assessment of PMQs but I don’t think that the PM’s comment on Steve Rotheram was about his regional accent but about the poor delivery of his planted & scripted question.

    Ed Miliband seems to be undoing his previous progress he had made at PMQs.  It was disappointing and quite frankly, shocking that he used all 6 of his questions on Leveson/Hunt.   How about the much more important issues like the Economy, Syria, Europe?  

    • Brumanuensis

      What’s he going to ask about the last two? And other than the recent industrial production figures, there’s nothing to ask about the economy.

      I thought Ed did well, but each to their own.

    • Robert_Crosby

      As I’ve said, I think this is a little bit unfair on Ed.  I strongly agree though that he should have maybe used one or two only on the Hunt/Warsi issue and gone on to the Eurozone and Syria with his others.  It will look all the better from this point on if we aren’t seen to be over-egging the Hunt thing from our side.  It’s all going to cave in on the Tories very soon anyway.

  • Dave Postles

    Tomorrow, the legislation to enable the government to track your online communications will be published.  The government will pay the ISPs to collect the data.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/13/online-privacy-legislation-internet-phone-data?commentpage=1#start-of-comments

    Good job that I have liveCDs of Tails Linux (automatic Tor connection) and LPS 1.3 – but then again, I don’t give a shit what this Coalition of asinine idiots does any more.

  • Dave Postles

    That’s more like it.  UKUncut will be allowed to proceed to judicial review against HMRC for the Hartnett deal with Goldman Sachs.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-uncut-can-challenge-goldman-sachs-sweetheart-tax-deal-7848379.html

  • Robert_Crosby

    I voted and did some ringing around for Ed Miliband.  I understand why people want him to be harder-hitting.  There are many occasions where I want him to be.  I do think though that he has increasingly been getting it right at PMQs.  His steadfast unwillingness to lose his temper places him in marked contrast to Cameron.  The accident-prone Pillsbury Doughboy makes himself look increasingly ridiculous each week, going redder in the face and manufacturing silly insults to throw back at Ed.  This, together with the spate of misjudgements and gaffes that Cameron inflicts on himself almost daily now, will render his time in office far less than he will have believed possible.

    I do agree that the scripted questions have to stop – on all sides.  MPs and their aides may think it’s clever.  Nobody else is impressed.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/QDMFX65KM5STSAFHAC4FOLFTO4 fran

    Wouldn’t happen in the Scottish Paliament – we don’t do yah boo !

    • John Ruddy

      Salmond doesnt do answering questions either – he’s learnt from the Master…

  • Vicky Seddon

    Interesting that hardly any of your respondents, Mark, had understood that you were pointing out how differently women MPs were treated.  Or so their responses would suggest

  • James

    Cameron truly is a spectacularly hopeless Prime Minister – more evasive and worse than his Aspergic predecessor who set the bar as far as Prime Ministerial performance goes lower than the belly of a snake. Shallow, superficial, hectoring, dissembling he never answers a question. The British people deserve better than this. 

  • Pingback: The Prime Minister, PMQs and Parliamentary Language. | 3Di Associates – 3D Eye

Latest

  • News Labour Equal marriage amendment gets Tory backing

    Labour Equal marriage amendment gets Tory backing

    From: HERBERT, Nick Sent: 20 May 2013 16:29 To: HERBERT, Nick Subject: Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill – voting today   Dear Colleague Thank you for your support for the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill at Second Reading. You will be aware of the amendments tabled by Tim Loughton and others (new Clauses 10 & 11) to extend civil partnerships to heterosexual couples I have no issue with the principle of this proposal, but I am very worried that adding this measure to the [...]

    Read more →
  • News Whitewash report claims that there’s no such thing as DWP “league tables” for sanctions

    Whitewash report claims that there’s no such thing as DWP “league tables” for sanctions

    Whilst the Westminster village has been working itself up into a lather over the rise of UKIP and when/if there should be an EU referendum, the DWP snuck out a report on the evidence of DWP league tables that we brought you recently. It’s a total whitewash. The report – which you can read here – argues that claims of a league table are entirely down to individual managers at a number of job centres. You could call it the [...]

    Read more →
  • Featured Equal Marriage is the most important thing – but Labour can’t let Equal Civil Partnerships get the “long grass” treatment

    Equal Marriage is the most important thing – but Labour can’t let Equal Civil Partnerships get the “long grass” treatment

    By Mark Ferguson

    So after toying with support for the Tim Loughton amendment over the weekend, Labour has decided to abstain on that particular amendment, and propose their own. Let’s be clear – the most important news today is that Equal Marriage will pass through the commons, and that’s a cause for huge celebration for all but an isolated minority in the Labour Party. I made clear this morning that I didn’t buy the argument that supporting the Loughton amendment would stop or [...]

    Read more →
  • News Labour’s Equal marriage Bill amendment on Civil Partnerships

    Labour’s Equal marriage Bill amendment on Civil Partnerships

    Labour MPs will be encouraged to back this amendment – rather than that of Tory backbencher Tim Loughton – today: House of Commons Monday 20 May 2013 CONSIDERATION OF BILL New Amendments handed in are marked thus * MARRIAGE (SAME SEX COUPLES) BILL MANUSCRIPT AMENDMENT (a) As an Amendment to Secretary Maria Miller’s proposed New Clause (Review of civil partnership) (NC16):- Kate Green (a)(a * Line 8, leave out from ‘practicable’ to end of Clause, and insert ‘and include a [...]

    Read more →
  • News Is Ed Miliband picking a fight with Google?

    Is Ed Miliband picking a fight with Google?

    By Mark Ferguson

    In his interview with the Observer yesterday, Ed Miliband singled out Google as a company who aren’t “living up to their responsibilities” on tax, saying: ” I don’t think [Google] are living up to their responsibilities at the moment, and I will be very clear about that on Wednesday. It is part of a culture of irresponsibility. If everyone approaches their tax affairs as some of these companies have approached their tax affairs we wouldn’t have a health service, we wouldn’t [...]

    Read more →