There were some pretty discontented former ministers scattered round the House of Commons this lunchtime. The reshuffle has taken its toll. Former secretary of state for education Michael Gove looked particularly disenchanted. He was officially revealed today in the Evening Standard as the most unpopular politician in Britain.
Former defence minister Andrew Robathan, banished to backbenches, had the wind taken out of his sails.
Only former foreign secretary William Hague looked benevolently on the proceedings, but he had chosen to go.
The new secretary of state for education Nicky Morgan and secretary of state for the environment Liz Truss, definite winners in this reshuffle, were beaming. They do have to remember they are only on a maximum nine-month contract and there is no significant legislation going through parliament during that time, but hey ho.
Still there was a female element to prime minister’s questions today. The first was from Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) who pointed out that 75 per cent of David Cameron’s cabinet would still be male. Cameron accused her of being a little churlish. It is a good feudal putdown. You make a small concession – just enough to stop the hordes coming through the gates with pitchforks – and when you are accused of not doing enough you say (patronisingly): ‘I think you are being a little churlish.’ Cameron is masterful at this.
Still, he was not going to be let off that easily. Labour men piled in. Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) pointed out that Cameron had given more men he had sacked knighthoods than he had appointed women to the cabinet.
Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) asked whether women who were not getting equal pay should make sure their salaries were topped up from Tory party funds. This was a reference to the revelation that peer Tina Stowell is to be paid £22,147 less than her predecessor Jonathan Hill as leader of the House of Lords because she is not going to be allowed to attend cabinet. According to newswires, a spokesperson had said, on condition of anonymity, that her money would be made up by Tory party coffers.
Ed Miliband himself was in Gove-baiting mode. ‘We’d always said we’ll support the government when they do the right thing,’ he started. ‘So can I join thousands of parents throughout the country to congratulate him for getting rid of the education secretary. Why did he demote him?’
Miliband reminded Cameron he had said that he wanted to keep Gove for many years. Was he sacked, Miliband asked, because of the lack of primary school places, the unqualified teachers or the failure of free schools? None of Cameron’s replies convinced.
Miliband then began his attack on the cost of living. It is a big Labour argument that job statistics are meaningless if people are not being paid enough to live on and are worse off.
This recovery, said Miliband, was ‘not benefitting most working people’ Cameron blamed the Labour party for causing the economic crisis. Miliband: ‘He is in his fifth year in government and all he can do is try and blame someone else’.
Cameron had saved up some attack lines for the end. He is getting good at this. He likes having the last word so that it marks the exchange. He went for deputy leader Harriet Harman claiming that she said yesterday on LBC that middle income earners should pay more taxes. The exact quote taken out of context from a long riff on universal public services is, ‘I think people on middle incomes should contribute more through their taxes’.
‘Which people should pay more on their taxes?’ he roared. At this point the speaker might have intervened. It is not the prime minister who is supposed to be asking the questions.
Harman, Twitter tells us, was mouthing, ‘they should.’ All I know is that when Cameron delivered a final swipe about Labour reshuffling its leader, Harman definitely said, ‘Pathetic!’
In other questions. Jack Straw (Blackburn) asked ‘what had possessed’ Cameron to sack Dominic Grieve, the attorney-general ‘given the distinction and respect that the holder of the office’ brought to the role?
Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore) wanted Cameron to publish the list of preferential bidders for Royal Mail.
Dan Jarvis (Barnsley) pursued the Lights Out Campaign, a British Legion move to get the public to mark the anniversary of the outbreak of the first world war by turning their lights out for an hour. Cameron always hates this kind of question and is, dare I say, churlish about them, because he feels this is his Tory territory and a Labour person should not be allowed on it.
While Fiona O’Donnell (East Lothian) asked ‘Keeping on the issue of taxes for the wealthy, when will you keep your promise and publish your tax return?’ Answer came there none.
Cameron knows he has to make his party look more female before the general election, but it really did look like window-dressing today. It was Labour women who were challenging Cameron, and Labour men who were standing up for them. That is a big difference between the parties.
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Sally Gimson is a journalist, a Labour councillor, and reviews PMQs on Progress