Today’s PMQs was a rather scattergun affair. Neither side of the chamber coalesced around a single issue. The terrible scandal of Jimmy Savile’s abuse and the shutdown of the Newsnight investigation, and the continued pressure on the government over voting rights for prisoners, did not dominate as suspected. The heartbreaking story of the trouble that the late Private Wade’s partner is having in gaining recognition from the army of his paternity for their daughter silenced the chamber. However, in the light of the Savile revelations, the real legacy of this PMQs will probably be Tom Watson’s accusation of the existence of a child abuse ring with ties at the heart of Westminster.

Who won?

Ed Miliband, from the beginning, was on the offensive against David Cameron, attacking the PM’s farcical announcement of the government’s energy policy. Ed and Cameron battled over Ed’s record as energy secretary, trading blows over various statistics relating to his time in office.

Ed, maintaining his advantage, went on to criticise the government over the West Coast mainline fiasco. Cameron ducked and dodged the initial question, training his fire instead on attacking Ed over energy policy. In response to the last two questions from Ed, Cameron focused on the economics news from this week of falling inflation and unemployed, avoiding further questions over responsibility for the franchise mess. By the end, the PM’s ‘crimson tide’ had returned with a vengeance to the glee of the Labour benches.

This was a points victory for Ed, but a victory nevertheless, for a leader whose game has been consistently improving at PMQs.

Best backbencher?

Tom Watson for bringing to the wider public sphere the allegations of a ‘powerful paedophile network linked to parliament and No 10’. This was mentioned in the last edition of the Sunday Times, where Edwina Currie stated that one of Thatcher’s aide was having sex with underage boys. Indeed, there was a newspaper article about this subject in 1998, in which The Guardian’s Nick Davies named a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party as being an abuser who had evaded justice. The implication of a government and media conspiracy of silence around alleged sexual offenders, if proven correct, will be yet another blow to public trust in establishment institutions.

Best question, answer, comment or joke?

Jacob Rees-Mogg, Sir Peter Tapsell and Peter Bone (who sadly failed to mention his wife), who can normally be relied upon for good contributions, all disappointed with their questions. Ed’s quip that ‘it’s not the ticket that needs upgrading, it’s the chancellor of the exchequer’ was the funniest joke, which tells you all you need to know about the quality of the lines this week

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David Butler is a student, a Labour party member and self-confessed Neo-Gaitskellite. He tweets @davidbutler100