PMQs Verdict: Deckchairs, chicken runs and daft puns

With quips like “Miliband folded faster than a Bournemouth deckchair”, who needs enemies?

David Cameron brought out the bad puns this week in an attempt to win one over on Ed Miliband. Though his one-liners went down well, Cameron didn’t look at all comfortable at PMQs. The economy is showing signs of growth, but that didn’t stop Labour MPs asking a barrage of questions about food banks, wage stagnation, tough living standards and high youth unemployment.

PMQs started off slow, with a ‘snoring boring’ exchange between Ed Miliband and David Cameron about the state of the economy. Things heated up when Ed Miliband accused Cameron and his Chancellor George Osborne of being ‘utterly complacent’ about slow economic growth, and called Michael Gove an ‘absolute disgrace’ for his take on food bank users.

Then David Cameron brought the big guns out, attacking the Labour leader over his TUC speech: “Ed Miliband told us it was going to be raging bull, instead he gave us chicken run.” The Prime Minister also managed to get a shot across the bows when he referenced Alistair Darling’s remarks about Labour’s lack of economic policy.

PMQs today was bizarre at best. Respect MP George Galloway popped up to ask a question on Syria (“As Mr Churchill said, “Jaw jaw is better than war war”) and Nigel Evans tearfully announced his resignation as Deputy Speaker following CPS sex charges.

Ed’s performance in PMQs was better than last week, but as far as the Labour leader is concerned, he still has to tighten up his act. This wasn’t a classic Miliband performance. Meanwhile Cameron’s performance started more humbly and sensibly than we might expect, but still ended in archetypal horrendous jokes and sneering smugness.

Ed Miliband and Labour definitely dominated the issues at PMQs this week; the discussion about living standards and wage stagnation was what was important today. It’s an issue we’ll be hearing a lot more about in the coming weeks and months.