Sixty highlights from sixty years of PMQs

It was 60 years this week since the first Prime Ministers’ Questions took place. What began as a sedate affair under Harold Macmillan has now become the centrepiece of the weekly parliamentary calendar, beginning at 12 p.m. every Wednesday afternoon. Over the years there have been numerous zingers, gaffes, probing questions and shameless defences, contributing to the public’s perception and understanding of its leaders in the cockpit of British democracy. Here, Steerpike brings you 60 of the best moments from PMQs first 60 years. 

Naturally there is a bias towards more recent years, with PMQs taking some time to be established as the place to make a mark. Indeed Dennis Skinner once recalled Eric Heffer being able to ask two questions in 15 minutes in one 1964 session as there was so little demand from MPs to ask anything.  Now though it has become the place to make or break MPs. Tony Blair memorably likened the experience in his autobiography to the teeth extraction from Marathon Man, with Wilson being forced to take a brandy (or two in later years) to help steady his nerves ahead of a session.