PMQs: Corbyn hones his skills as Leader of the Opposition, but not as an election winner

Jeremy Corbyn’s growing confidence at Prime Minister’s Questions is almost perfectly in step with his growing unpopularity outside the Chamber. He has perfected his geography teacher stare of disapproval to the extent that Tory MPs now automatically fall silent when he talks for fear of being kept behind after class. And he isn’t leaping all over the place with a phone-in format that doesn’t hold the Prime Minister to account. This week, the Labour leader focused on tax credits, and highlighted David Cameron’s inability to answer his questions about whether he could guarantee that no-one would be worse off as a result of the changes.

Cameron didn’t answer the questions well at all, but he also didn’t lose his cool, and his final answer highlighted the real problem for Corbyn. It isn’t that the new Labour leader needs to improve his style at Prime Minister’s Questions, though he is certainly doing that.