You are here: Home » Comment »

PMQS Verdict: No Questions Please, I’m The Prime Minister

October 17, 2012 1:41 pm

Author:

Tags:

Share this Article

It’s been a running commentary on David Cameron’s performances at PMQs that he’s not keen on actually answering any of the questions. But I never expected him to actually say out loud – to the Commons – that he’s refusing to answer a question. That fit of angry pique came near the end of a bruising PMQs, and was prompted by Chris Bryant, whoCameron finds nearly as annoying as Ed Balls, and someone who the Tory benches love to hurl distasteful and unpleasant heckles at in the chamber…

Bryant asked – quite rightly – why text messages between the PM and Rebekah Brooks had been kept from the Leveson Enquiry. Cameron – clearly annoyed at accusations that Bryant has thrown at him in the past – refused, point blank, to answer the question. The Prime Minister said – and I think it’s worth being clear about this – that he would no longer answer a member’s questions at PMQs. That really is quite remarkable. Perhaps in the future we will look back on today’s outburst and think of it as the time when Cameron lost his temper once and for all. It could and should have been handled with a smile and a joke. Instead the conspiracy theorists will be hunting for those text messages with more vigour than before.

Nice work Dave. Putting out a fire by pouring petrol on it. His answer could hardly have been less respectful if he had whipped his chap out.

But Cameron’s loss of perspective shouldn’t overshadow what was a more than competent performance from Ed Miliband. The Labour leader’s confidence at PMQs has improved massively over 2012, and his strong conference season has clearly done him good. The first few questions were a little forced – trying to mention unemployment stats without really talking about them. But when he turned his fire on the Chief Whip, his anger increased, the mood of the chamber turned, and he landed some real blows on the PM. Cameron’s attempt to wriggle out of the issue he surely knew was coming was rather poor. Saying that Miliband should focus on “real issues” was a natty attempt at framing, but Miliband’s ad-libbed response,  ”I think it is a real issue, abusing police officers” – along with comparing a yob’s treatment for swearing at a copper (a night in the cells) with Mitchell’s (a night at the Carlton Club) – settled the tie in favour of the Labour leader.

Yet surely Ed Miliband doesn’t want to see Mitchell go. not really. Not yet. As I wrote a few days ago – the Mitchell poison is starting to infect the Tory body politic. And that’s before the Chief Whip has even had to try and whip his party for any kind of contentious vote. Cameron was already losing his party before this, Mitchell never had the trust of the party. Now they are locked together for a few days more, in a deathly embrace.

And Ed Miliband is encouraging them to hold on a little tighter, by calling for Cameron to let go.

Related posts:

  1. PMQs verdict: I felt embarrassed for the Prime Minister
  2. PMQS verdict: Slowly but surely, Ed Miliband is getting better at PMQs
  3. PMQs verdict: Calm down Dave, and listen to the Doctors…
  4. PMQs verdict: Miliband lets Cameron off the hook
  5. PMQs verdict: The balance of power has shifted
  • Cari_esky

    Cameron should be bright and full of energy for PMQs. He’s just had a long recess to recuperate.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Graeme-Hancocks/1156294498 Graeme Hancocks

    Cameron clearly rattled by Chris Bryant’s question.  Admittedly, Cameron doesn’t usually answer questions at PMQ, but his evasion does make you wonder whether he does have something to hide. It would be better if Mitchell stayed on – not better for the tories but for the opposition. Constant reminder of what they really think about the rest of us!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ZPXYLRVP4XOIGGDJWAL6HUO7U4 David

    Kudos for successfully imitating the writing style of the Sun in this write-up: the only tricks you missed out were “Cameron, 46,…”, and use of capitalised words.

  • kb4355

    The entire Mitchell episode has further been heightened by Mitchells denials in the chamber.

    Michael Fabricant has tweeted today:

    “Several MPs have confirmed to me that AM did indeed say #pmqs “I didn’t swear” (at the police). This puts a whole new light on the issue.”

  • charles.ward

    “along with comparing a yob’s treatment for swearing at a copper (a night
    in the cells) with Mitchell’s (a night at the Carlton Club)”

    Judging by TV shows that follow the police around it appears that Andrew Mitchell’s treatment was exactly the same as a “yob’s”.   He was warned that if he swore again he could be arrested, he did not swear again and wasn’t arrested.  I have never seen a police officer immediately arrest someone without issuing this warning, though I freely admit that TV documentaries are all I have to go on.  Does anyone have an example of someone being arrested for swearing without first being warned about their language?

    • Dave Postles

      ‘Metaphor is for most people a device of the poetic imagination and the rhetorical flourish – a matter of extraordinary rather than ordinary language …’ etc etc: George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, Metaphors We Live By (Chicago, 1980), p. 3 (Chapter 1: ‘Concepts we live by’).  BTW, GL is well worth following on contemporary issues too.

      • charles.ward

         I think the word you are looking for is “hyperbole” but normally this involves an exaggeration that is obviously absurd.  The idea that a “yob” would be instantly arrested the moment he swore at a police officer is not absurd, despite being untrue.  It’s what we plebs would call “a lie”.

        • Dave Postles

          It’s a structural metaphor.

        • Dave Postles

          It’s a structural metaphor.

        • Dave Postles

          It’s a structural metaphor.

    • aracataca

      A fine example of modern Toryism at its best Mr Ward?

      • charles.ward

        I’m not defending Mr Mitchell (I would have fired him immediately). 

        There seems to be a modern trend that when someone has done something wrong there is no need to tell the truth when attacking them.  It’s not a view I share.

  • http://twitter.com/MEandMKLabour Maidstone Labour

    When someone says “Let me be clear” as much as Camoron does, to me it says that “I have been lying until now” Same as when someone says “To tell you the truth” as normally I don’t.
    When is he ever going to answer a question without getting abusive. 

  • PeterBarnard

    I feel a little embarrassed about posting this “Breaking News,” as it’s about half an hour old now (equivalent to a geological era in today’s TwitterWorld), but Andrew Mitchell has resigned … EdM’s toast has just popped up.

    Mr Cameron must be thinking, “Politics! It’s a bitch.”

    And, it is …

Latest

  • Comment The culture of high risk credit is being exploited by betting shops

    The culture of high risk credit is being exploited by betting shops

    By Matthew Zarb-Cousin

    Since the financial crisis, the perfect storm of recession and banks restricting access to credit has led to the rise of payday lenders. Our high streets are slowly deteriorating from the vibrant, diverse places they once were into an abyss of pawnbrokers, payday loan shops and bookies. The three feed off of each other, targeting some of our most deprived areas and perpetuating a cycle of despair driven by the need for extra income. Research carried out by Geofutures found [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment Should people be asked if they are party supporters when they register to vote?

    Should people be asked if they are party supporters when they register to vote?

    Chris Clark and Rav Seeruthun on a small change that if adopted, would free activists to spend more time on community work Every year at party conferences we hear professional politicians eulogise hard-working party volunteers. And there’s no activity more often evoked than that of ‘knocking on doors’. It’s a common delusion that the purpose of doorstep canvassing is to ‘persuade’ voters. Having taken part in our fair share of Labour canvassing sessions, we’ve both had the dispiriting experience of [...]

    Read more →
  • Europe Featured You can always rely on the Conservatives to ignore the public when it comes to Europe

    You can always rely on the Conservatives to ignore the public when it comes to Europe

    By Douglas Alexander

    Europe is not often the issue which comes top of people’s concerns on the doorstep. Nor do opinion polls suggest that Europe is a priority for voters when compared to issues like the economy or jobs. But you can always rely on the Conservatives to ignore the public when it comes to Europe. This week saw over a hundred Conservative MPs rebel and vote against their own Queens Speech. They were angry that it hadn’t included a bill which would [...]

    Read more →
  • News Seats and Selections Vicky Foxcroft selected as Labour’s PPC for Lewisham Deptford

    Vicky Foxcroft selected as Labour’s PPC for Lewisham Deptford

    Vicky Foxcroft has been selected by Lewisham Deptford CLP as the party’s candidate for 2015 at a selection meeting this afternoon. Here’s a brief biography: Vicky grew up in the North West in a single parent household, and was the first person in her family to go to university. She has held many positions in the party including Chair of Labour Students, has sat on the National Policy Forum and is currently a local councillor and is Chair of Lewisham [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment Labour’s future schools policy: why accountability matters

    Labour’s future schools policy: why accountability matters

    By Mike Ion

    Stephen Twigg, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary is one of the more thoughtful and pragmatic individuals to hold this vitally important brief for some time. To his credit Stephen has been out and about these past two years listening to pupils, teachers, parents and governors and finding out more about the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. In addition Stephen has been looking closely at some local, regional, national and international programmes that have had a demonstrable impact in raising [...]

    Read more →