PMQs scorecard – how’s Ed doing so far?

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

There’s no PMQs this week, so instead of our usual liveblog we thought we’d take a look at how Ed Miliband has performed so far in his weekly sessions with Cameron. We’ve marked him in the time-honoured fashion of the scorecard, with marks for Aggression, Confidence, Dexterity, Humour and Substance. How is he performing, and do you agree with our scores?

Aggression – There have been calls for Ed Miliband to show a little more anger at PMQs. It needs to be believable though, and Miliband is more “cold and calculating” than “raging bull”. There have been flashes of anger, but he hasn’t lost his temper. That’s a reasonable balance – for now.
Score: B-

Confidence – His confidence is clearly on the rise with each passing week. Tory catcalls from the government benches were throwing him off his stride, but now he’s happy to shrug them off. He’s also more comfortable on the attack and he no longer seems fazed by Cameron.
Score: B+

Dexterity – Dexterity is important at PMQs. Thinking on your feet and landing a quick blow in response to your opponent is decisive. Unfortunately Ed Miliband isn’t quite there yet. There’s always a sense that his comments are pre-scripted and don’t fully take account of what Cameron has said. Sometimes that can make his replies seem rehearsed rather than authentic.
Score: C+

Humour – Perhaps the weakest part of Miliband’s PMQs armoury. His best “gag” so far involved criticising Gordon Brown’s temper. Whilst that may have been tactically astute, it was hardly a show stopper. Ed needs someone to write him a few jokes. Is Eddie Izzard free?
Score: C-

Substance – One area in which it’s difficult to fault Ed is substance. He always appears well briefed, and uses PMQs as a means to take on the coalition and drive issues up the media agenda. He’s rarely bested by Cameron on detail, however that’s largely because Cameron can’t answer a straight question.
Score: A

Overall: Confident, well briefed and taking the fight to Cameron at PMQs. He’s showing steady improvement, but he needs to be a little bit more loose and allow himself to improvise. He also needs to remember that this is a performance, not a Q&A session – and land a few knock out blows.
Score: B