And so it came round again- the prime minister opened what turned out to be quite a ‘boring’ session with the customary tributes to those armed forces personnel who have died since the House last sat back in December.

The exchanges between Ed Miliband and David Cameron were broken up again, which is a strategy that seems to be a positive for Ed Miliband for two reasons; he can change topics and force the PM to demonstrate his and this government’s cavalier approach and allows Ed to regroup in the wake of any inaccurate yet effectively delivered jibes or put downs. Ed started on the economy and the cost of rail travel (which was probably linked to the announcement about HS2 yesterday from secretary of state Justine Greening) and that’s a smart move; Labour needs to hammer this government on the standards of living in this country because for the first time since the war, kids will be worse off than their parents and that’s a damning indictment of Messrs Cameron, Clegg and Gideon O.

Ed Miliband asked the PM why some rail companies had increased fares to the tune of some 11 per cent when the Chancellor (Gideon O) announced in his autumn statement that there would be a 1 per cent increase. Cameron responded with: ‘because Labour allowed them to do that’, Ed persisted and said that Labour had taken the powers to increase fares like this away from these rail companies and the PM tried to challenge this with a silly and rather shrill response. A good ‘win’ for Ed saw the prime minister actually admit that Labour had taken the powers away and this government had given them right back to the rail companies. This was a relatively healthy exchange of views but the second set was quite an unusual burst of consensus and agreement…

To get some unity, albeit temporary, between Labour and the Tories, we just need to mention first minister Alex Salmond and his sad bunch of separatists in the SNP.  The recent talk about when and where, indeed how the referendum on Scottish independence will take place has united the two main political parties, as they fight for the future of the union and the values that bind that very union together. Angus Robertson, who leads the SNP at Westminster stood up and tried to say something about Scotland being dictated to once again re: Mrs Thatcher and the poll tax. This is going to be one of the major battles over the rest of this parliament and it is heartening to see that Cameron, Miliband and little Mr Clegg realise that in this battle ‘yes, we’re all in this together’.

There were honourable mentions for a number of backbenchers on both sides of the House. Luciana Berger pressed the PM on the cuts to the winter fuel allowance and the abuse of the elderly by these large energy companies. This was a Labour MP on the side of those in need of support; unfortunately we just got another typical hubristic response from the PM. Conservative MP Helen Grant asked about forced marriage and the need to do all we can to stamp it out in communities right across the country. Cameron to his credit, said he would do all he could to do so. The newly honoured Lib Dem MP, Sir Bob Russell pressed Cameron on the growth of illegal settlements in Israel. Yes, we need a safe and secure Israel but we also need a Palestinian state where the human rights of the Palestinians are protected, enhanced and supported; irrespective of the stance of the Israeli government.

Last question was from Labour’s Dame Joan Ruddock who asked the PM about the effects of cuts to housing benefit in her London constituency. She was short, sharp and relevant and Cameron spent more time making churlish and frankly inappropriate comments about her past than he did about addressing the effects of Londoners who have lost their jobs and risk losing their homes too.  Clearly 2012 is going to be a long year in Westminster.