PMQs Verdict: A bit of the old politics reminds us why we wanted the new

Whisper it, but that was a little bit old politics, wasn’t it? It could almost have been a PMQs from any point in the last 2o years.

The traditional battle lines were drawn (Labour’s NHS versus the Tories’ economy) and the traditional roles were assumed (the Leader of the Opposition’s relentless questioning versus the Prime Minister’s evasive answering) with the traditional outcome (stalemate). Not one for the neutrals.

In fact, we even got a traditional outburst from Dennis Skinner, but even that was laced with a touch of the new politics absurdity. “He’s like Bad Santa!” the Bolsover Beast bellowed from his traditional Awkward Squad spot on the frontbench, as Cameron blustered through a fabricated attack about Labour’s position on coal mines. I’m not sure exactly what raised his ire, but former miner Skinner was not happy.

That wasn’t the only oddity. In the course of wishing everyone a “happy Christmas”, Jeremy Corbyn gifted gleeful Gallery sketchwriters a hook as he stressed that Tim Peake was “not on this planet”. Moments later, Cameron condemned Corbyn for having failed to wish everyone a “happy Christmas”, proving once and for all that there is literally nothing that the Labour leader cannot be attacked for. I half expected Cameron to lambast his opposite number for not having gone to see the new Star Wars yet, or cite a Daily Mail accusation that Corbyn had told an Al Qaeda fundraiser that he was “a fan of Jar Jar Binks” back in 1999.

Cameron did, in fact, slip in a joke about “the Dark Side”, but it does not warrant repeating.

What today does suggest is that Jeremy Corbyn’s different approach to PMQs, notably absent this afternoon, is better. While I enjoyed Angela Eagle’s turn last week, it is not to Corbyn’s strengths, and while this week’s was a bit bolshier than usual, it allowed Cameron greater confidence in the crap he was peddling. Corbyn raised important points about the NHS, but Cameron sees that topic as Labour retreating to their comfort zone, and takes it as a sign to dash back to his.

We’ll think Jeremy won because his points were more substantive, but Tories will think the same of Dave, and for the same reasons.