Live blog

PMQs, 26 October 2011

PMQs, 19 August 2011

<a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=a6b8bca976″ >Miliband’s speech</a>

Clegg conf speech

A change from the Coffee House norm for this last PMQs before the summer recess. Instead of the usual live-blog, we’ll be live-tweeting the session, and our tweets will appear in the special window below (you may be familiar with it from Guido’s PMQs coverage). Tweets from other political types may also appear. And you can add your own remarks to the live-stream not in the comments section, but in the space below the window. Anyway, it should all be fairly self-explanatory. It might work, it might not. In either case, do let us know what you think. End of term PMQS

VERDICT: Once again, Ed Miliband caught David Cameron out on an obscure point; this time about NHS reform. But, it was much too narrow a line of questioning and he had nothing to say on today’s other issues (Greece, Ken Clarke’s knife crime u-turn or tomorrow’s strikes etc.). Indeed, Labour was silent on the issue of tomorrow’s strikes and the economy. Cameron easily turned this to his advantage, painting Labour as being trapped in the pocket of the unions. Thus, was victory won from an awkward position. 12:30: Finally, a question Labour’s backbenchers about pension reform in the public sector, but it sounds like a half-hearted after-thought. Cameron defends his

VERDICT: Ed Miliband repeated the same tactic as last week, concentrating on a specific policy area to test Cameron’s command of the details — and again it had the desired effect, although not quite so tellingly as before. The Prime Minister floundered and generalised on the issue of rape arrests, but managed to turn some of his discomfort back on the Labour leader, and ended their exchange sounding more confident than perhaps he was. He was then consideraby more surefooted throughout the backbench questions, particularly when it came to public sector pensions and to attacking Labour’s unfunded VAT cut. But, on the whole, this was another session to relieve the

VERDICT: The specifics of today’s exchange between David Cameron and Ed Miliband may have everyone rushing for this Macmillan press release, but the rhetorical positions were clear enough. There was the Labour leader, angrier and more indignant than usual, painting the government’s welfare reforms as cruel and insufficiently thought-through. And there was the PM, painting his opponent as yet another roadblock to reform. Neither really triumphed, although their battle will most likely set a template for in future. The coalition has extensive public backing for its changes to the welfare system. So, Miliband’s challenge is to attack certain aspects of them, without making Labour appear to be — as he

VERDICT: That was probably the most straightforward PMQs that Ed Miliband will ever experience. Thanks to Ken Clarke, the Labour leader had several shots into an open goal — and most were excuted efficiently, if not skilfully. Cameron was left in an unforgiving position, and he just about hung in there, eventually mustering some sort of defence and then turning it around to Labour’s mismanagement of the criminal justice system. It was an intriguing exchange, not least because it presaged what could become a major problem for the Tories — their crime and justice policy — and how Labour might exploit it. And it was all supplemented by a set

VERDICT: An inconclusive sort of PMQs, where neither leader particularly triumphed, nor particularly sank. Ed Miliband was persistent, and more aggressive than usual, with his questions on the NHS — but failed, really, to properly discomfort the PM. Cameron dwelt lazily on the extra money going into the service, but it was enough to carry him through the session. Perhaps the most striking moment was when, during the backbench questions, Cameron pointed out that “[the Tories] were the only party at the last election to promise [real-terms spending increases for health]. If it wasn’t for us, it wouldn’t be happening.” This is, I suspect, all part of the new drive

VERDICT: A sedate sort of PMQs today, particularly in comparison to the fizz and fire of recent sessions. The reason is simply the date: with the local elections tomorrow, much of the emphasis was on making a straightforward pitch for votes. Miliband’s was to attack the “broken promises” of the coalition — a charge that, if not exactly new, is one he is deploying more and more. Whereas Cameron’s was to emphasise that councils can make cuts while improving services — and that Tory councils have been particularly successful in doing so. Both men broadcast their messages today, without really scarring the other. The winners and losers will be better

VERDICT: To paraphrase that famous football cliché, this was a session of two halves. Cameron put in a confident performance against what should have been the trickier set of questions: on the economy. But when it came to Ed Miliband’s second topic of choice, the NHS, it all went suddenly awry. The PM’s arguments were unusually messy and convoluted, lost in themselves. And he only made matters worse with his Winner-esque exhortation at a Labour frontbencher, “Calm down, dear!” You can argue whether it was sexist of the PM, or not, particularly as it’s not clear whom the remark was aimed at (although the smart money’s on Angela Eagle). But

VERDICT: What happened there, then? The Prime Minister often has a confident swagger about him when it comes to PMQs — but today it went into overdrive. He simply couldn’t conceal his glee at taking on Eds Miliband and Balls; the first over his appearance at the anti-cuts demonstration, the second for just being Ed Balls. It was a little bit Flashman from the PM, perhaps. Yet, on this occasion, it also helped him sail through the contest more or less untroubled. Aside from the theatrics, the serious talk was reserved for whether the coalition should help arm the rebels in Libya. The PM’s official position was that we shouldn’t

1348, PH: And Ed Miliband comes to a close, still sounding the same note: that the growth downgrades prove the coalition is bad for the nation’s health. We’ll come to a close there, too. Thanks for tuning in. More Budget coverage on Coffee House all afternoon, starting with these graphs. 1244, PH: Ed Miliband is suggesting that Labour were tougher on the banks because their bonus tax raised £3.5 billion. Problem is, it’s esimated that, after other tax effects, the actual amount that ended up in Treasury coffers was more like £2 billion — if that. 1342, PH: Oh, Miliband’s back on growth again: “The OBR has factored in every

VERDICT: A more evenly-matched PMQs that we have been used to, with both leaders parrying and thrusting to some effect. Miliband’s chosen topic — the NHS — was a surprise, particularly given today’s unemployment figures and the persistent flurry of bad news from abroad. Yet it did open up a clear divide between him and Cameron. On one side, the Labour leader claiming that the the coalition is taking undue risks with a beloved health system. On the other, the PM painting Miliband as Brown Mark II, a roadblock to reform and change. Neither side really won, or lost, the argument today, but you can expect them to return to

VERDICT: A turgid sort of PMQs, where most of the quips were clumsy rather than cutting. Cameron probably won it by virtue of one of the few direct hits – his line about Ed Miliband knifing a foreign secretary, aka MiliD – and because Miliband failed, really, to prod and aggravate the coalition’s wounds over Libya. The Labour leader’s main attack – over the competence of the coalition – was clear enough, though, and could have some purchase depending on, erm, how competent the coalition is. As it is, Cameron’s hint that he still has the occasional cigarette will probably capture the spotlight. 1231: And that’s it. My quick verdict