The verdict
Today’s PMQs was always going to be a warm up act for this afternoon’s budget. However, given the situation in both Libya and Japan, important international matters were sure to feature heavily. Just as he has over the past week, David Cameron appeared as both a statesman and a leader when discussing Libya. Using the familiar technique of splitting his allotted questions in two, Ed Miliband quite rightly used the first half to question the prime minister on how the situation was developing. Despite Cameron’s very competent performance, Ed was able do more than simply give the prime minister the opportunity to make a statement to the house. Miliband used his first three questions to raise relevant and important points, which while surpassing political mud-slinging did not give Cameron a free ride. The issue of Arab League support and the confusion over whether or not Gaddafi was indeed a target allowed Ed Miliband to show that he too can rise to matters of state importance. Normal service was resumed for the second half of Ed’s questions with both leaders claiming that the other was quite wrong in their understanding of how the mobility component of the disability living allowance was being reformed. The week’s events and a strong performance on the floor mean that in the traditional sense, the prime minister ‘won’. However, Ed certainly did not lose and his powerful performance should provide Labour with a strong basis for which to respond to Osborne’s budget of cuts this afternoon.
Best backbencher
Emma Reynolds wins this week’s award for best backbencher not simply because of the quality of her question but because she acted as a reminder to all Labour MPs and indeed the wider party that we must be far stronger in our defence of the NHS and just as strong in our attack of Tory plans to dismantle it. It’s an issue which affects all people and we as a party must be far better in articulating our arguments around it.
Some comic relief?
PMQ’s today was rather void of jokes, although Alun Cairns’ disastrous attempt to remember two lines of prepared text did provide a laugh for those on the Labour benches. Not only did Alun Cairns appear rather silly, but the Tory spin doctor who decided that Cairns should make the weekly point about Labour’s economic record will be left wondering that perhaps next week he should choose someone with a memory greater than that of a goldfish.
The Budget culminating more onslaught on the NHS is lethal and should not be tolerated, as per the expectations of the majority masses. Thus,curtailing reforms around the NHS is not only an outright blow to the Labour Party being the originator of the National Heath Service, but also to the wider community of Great Britain who are the sole beneficiaries of this marvellous civic facility, afforded in the true spirit of the Labour Party Movement. I certainly hope that sanity will prevail, so hand’s off!
But I suspect labour onslaught would have been the NHS, education, and welfare, problem we do not know which way labour would have gone with Brown in charge, we do know welfare would have been a massive target for him, and I suspect will be for both labour and the Tories. keep the slightly pinky blue flag flying by all means.