PMQs: Five key points to take away from the latest head-to-head

1. Theresa May has made no progress on Brexit.

“Having told the media this morning that she’s made progress can she now update the House on what changes she has secured to her deal?” The Prime Minister couldn’t answer Jeremy Corbyn’s first question, not that this is unusual. The opposition leader wants to “create chaos” in the country, she said, apparently unaware of the irony, and he “couldn’t care less” what progress has been made because Labour will vote against the deal regardless. May hasn’t brought anything back from Brussels yet, and it’s clear the EU aren’t ready now – if they will ever be – to offer concessions on the backstop, either concerning a time limit or unilateral withdrawal.

2. The meaningful vote probably won’t be held before Christmas.

“Can she now confirm that we will have the concluding days of debate and votes within the next seven days before the House rises for the Christmas recess?” Corbyn asked. Britain “had a meaningful vote” at the EU referendum in 2016, came the reply, which appropriately outraged the Labour leader and MPs on the opposition benches. “And if he wants a meaningful date I’ll give him 29th March 2019, when we leave the European Union,” May added. It is clearer than ever that her intention is to run down the clock and force parliament’s hand, so that the vote is less meaningful than it would have been on Tuesday. This is “totally and absolutely unacceptable”, Corbyn angrily hit back, adding: “Her behaviour today is contemptuous of this parliament and of this process.”

3. May is still insisting that Corbyn wants to stop Brexit.

Divisions within the Labour Party are primarily over the perception that Corbyn is actually a Brexiteer, or at least does not want to stop Brexit. The leadership has unquestionably resisted calls to support a fresh referendum, which Remainers hope would deliver a different result to that of 2016 (although this is light years away from certain), and has openly prioritised an alternative Brexit plan over putting a stop to the process.

You might think that May would want to exploit those internal rows and highlight Corbyn’s Euroscepticism to further inflame the feud. But that is not the path she typically chooses to take at PMQs, and this week was no exception. “We all know what the right honourable gentleman’s answer to the backstop is: ignore the referendum and stay in the European Union,” the PM told MPs today. Ignoring the referendum is precisely the opposite of what Corbyn is striving to do, however accuracy isn’t the goal here. May agrees with the opposition leader that becoming the anti-Brexit party would seriously damage Labour’s electoral chances.

4. May still hasn’t ruled out ‘no deal’.

When Corbyn demanded that the PM “categorically rule out the option of no-deal”, May replied that the only way of doing this is to vote for her deal. Of course, this led to derisory laughter from MPs pointing out (as the Speaker did yesterday) that, thanks to her decision to pull the vote, they couldn’t have approved a deal even if they were so inclined. The PM is still banking on the fear of no deal, which let’s remember is the automatic fall back if no deal is passed, to drive her plan through parliament.

5. Corbyn didn’t see the value in highlighting the Tory no-confidence vote.

Lobby hacks mocked the Labour leader for talking about parliamentary procedure rather than the ongoing implosion of the Conservative Party, but there were good reasons to swerve the no-confidence vote topic until the end of the session. It’s not just that Corbyn doesn’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to ignoring how little confidence a parliamentary party has in its leader. It is also Labour’s contention – one that should be universally accepted – that Tory squabbling matters little to regular voters. And this is the point he made to round off PMQs. “Whatever happens with her Conservative leadership vote today, it is utterly irrelevant to the lives of people across our nation, and it does nothing resolve the government’s inability to get a deal that works for the whole country.”