Ample cynicism in Westminster was sparked by the news last night that Rebecca Long-Bailey would be deputising for Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister’s Questions. Until today, Emily Thornberry had always fulfilled that role. It is no coincidence that the Islington South MP was being cast aside, MPs and journalists theorised: the snub comes after her repeated criticisms of Labour’s Brexit position in response to the grim European election results. And her replacement is well-known for closely following the party line, particularly on Brexit. Let’s not forget that the membership is largely anti-Brexit, while Long-Bailey is widely thought to be favoured by the current leadership as Corbyn’s successor.
But doubts were quashed this afternoon, when Long-Bailey put in an excellent performance against Theresa May’s stand-in David Lidington. Her impressive debut didn’t copy the cool and breezy tone adopted by Thornberry for these sessions, but had its own style. Clear and concise, the Shadow Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary stuck to an obviously pre-conceived line of questioning without coming across as stilted or overly-scripted. She moved swiftly from one topic to another, sounding well-informed on each of them.
President Trump’s state visit made for a good framing device, which Long-Bailey used to attack the Tories on the NHS. Labour saw red yesterday when Theresa May was remarkably timid as the President stated that in a UK-US trade deal “everything will be on the table”. This prompted instant responses from Tory leadership candidates including Matt Hancock and Dominic Raab, who were quick to deny that the NHS was for sale. The political damage has been done, however. “Will the Tory party give US companies access to the NHS, yes or no?” Long-Bailey asked. “When it comes to trade negotiations, the NHS is not and will not be up for sale,” Lidington replied – but who would take the Tories at their word?
“Anybody who outshines the dear leader at the despatch box risks being airbrushed out of the politburo history at the earliest opportunity,” Lidington joked at the start of PMQs, taking aim at Labour’s frontbench switcheroo. If that were the case, Long-Bailey wouldn’t be invited back to deputise and wouldn’t be encouraged to position herself ahead of the next leadership election – neither of which is likely.
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