The triumphalism of the Tories may yet sink them. It was a disgusting sight to behold, the party scenting blood and baying for it. Today was a tough day on the Labour benches.

The bad polling in Scotland, Ed Balls’ inability on Newsnight yesterday to remember the full name of the man who devised Labour’s small business policies and the daily attacks in the media, overly eager to see Ed Miliband defeated, made the mood grim.

Miliband’s tactic was to go on the offensive and to show up how the Tories are in the pockets of hedge fund managers and tax avoiders.

The only question Miliband asked at prime minister’s questions today was ‘Why were hedge funds not paying stamp duty on stock market transactions, losing the government hundreds of millions of pounds?’ He asked it five times and Cameron did not answer it once.

‘We all know why,’ said Miliband. ‘It is because he is bankrolled by the hedge funds.’ Hedge funds who, argued Miliband, gave millions of pounds to the Tory party.

As Cameron was not prepared to answer the question at all, the prime minister had to resort to abusing the Labour party.

His ‘best’ line was directed at Balls, who the Tories have always thought was Labour’s weakness; ‘He said “Bill somebody”. Bill somebody is not a person. Bill somebody is Labour’s policy’

For the rest of the time Cameron had at the despatch box, he simply tried to trash Labour policy on energy and tuition fees, and to point up manufactured arguments within Labour about direction on the NHS. He managed a mention of the Chuckle Brothers and called the two Eds ‘clowns’.

It does seem pointless, as Miliband pointed out to call this session prime minister’s questions, when the prime minister does not answer questions any more.

Miliband got down to the business finally, naming Tory donors like Michael Spencer, who was embroiled in the Libor scandal and Lord Laidlaw who he claimed was a tax exile.

Cameron retorted that Andrew Rosenfeld, who raised money for the Labour party, used to be a tax exile in Geneva. He also had a pop at Labour donor John Mills.

The dividing line, Cameron said was between Tory competence and Labour chaos. It sounds innocuous, but it was nastily done. Although the Tories’ future vision is only competence, no wonder they are stuck at 31 per cent in the polls.

Labour members of parliament can get pretty horrid too if they want to and Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) got in a jibe against Samantha Cameron.

‘Did the prime minister,’ he asked, ‘know anyone who worked for a firm which is based in Luxembourg to minimise tax.’ Answer: ‘It’s your wife.’

Other questions were from Phil Wilson (Sedgefield) who was first up asking about unscrupulous employers making sudden wage stoppages, Dan Jarvis (Barnsley) about a solar panel firm which was supposed to come to his constituency and would bring hundreds of highly skilled jobs. It was facing problems in Whitehall. Cameron said he would look into it.

Joan Walley (Stoke-on-Trent North) asked about the KPMG report into the NHS in Staffordshire. She said that she wanted it published so;  ‘We can all see his real plans for the NHS in Staffordshire.’

Cathy Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) said that median wages were five per cent lower last year than in 2008. ‘Will the prime minister now admit that families across the country face a cost of living crisis.’ Of course, he would not!

Altogether, another pretty bloody prime minister’s questions.

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Sally Gimson is a journalist and Labour councillor in the London borough of Camden. She writes the PMQs on Progress column and tweets @SallyGimson

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