Who won?
 
I’m glad that recess is over. A temporary slip in the polls, rumours of a funding crisis and questions from many in the media about the direction in which Ed is taking the party didn’t make for good reading. I was certainly glad that PMQs had come back round again. Until I’d seen it.
 
The PM and Ed Miliband were clearly both still in holiday mode.
 
The whole affair was very disjointed and both Cameron and Miliband will be bordering on embarrassed at their performances today. They failed to land any telling blows and when they did strike it was predictable, unimaginative and quite frankly, a little bit dull.  Ed went for the NHS and sentencing policy, and Cameron opted for criticising Ed’s “empty opposition and weak leadership” – surprise, surprise.  I believe that Ed was right to go on sentencing today after the announcement that Ken Clarke, another Government Minister, had been hung out to dry by the PM but we failed to capitalise on this and just as importantly, we missed an opportunity to rile a few of Cameron’s backbenchers. The Tories are immensely proud of their tough on crime image and there are many within the Tory party who were devastated at the prospect of this image being tarnished – we should have tried harder to drive a wedge between Ken Clarke and his party and undermine the Tory leadership.
 
Cameron’s ripostes were predictable, suggesting that Ed “wasn’t really controlling the ship” and accusing him of “jumping on the bandwagon”. These aren’t really acceptable answers for Prime Minister’s Questions and suggest an unhealthy reluctance to talk about policy. 
 
All round a very forgettable performance from both leaders.
 
Best question?
 
The best question today came from Chuka Umunna.
 
Chuka asked the Prime Minister what the Government planned to do to tackle the rising level of senseless young murders across the country over recent weeks. Violent attacks amongst young people with knifes and firearms is back on the rise with a number of these over recent weeks. David Cameron said that tackling this issue was a priority for the government but the Tory policy of cutting frontline police is going to damage their legitimate efforts to tackle youth violence. With all the police and good will in the world, without proper outlets for young people, better education on the dangers of knives and sentences proportionate to these crimes , we’re never going to get to grips with the problem. 
 
Best joke/gag/etc?
 
Overall, PMQs wasn’t a particularly funny affair. Although, Richard Harrington did ask the PM whether the Guardian’s letters page had more authority on economic matters than the IMF.