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| Santa Corbyn produces punches from his postbag | Santa Corbyn produces punches from his postbag |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| “What happened to the new approach?” inquired David Cameron, going pinker by the second. “Questions asked so they could be responded to.” Jeremy Corbyn could have pointed out that responded to was not the same as answered, but the prime minister’s face had done all the talking necessary. A pink Dave is a Dave under pressure. | “What happened to the new approach?” inquired David Cameron, going pinker by the second. “Questions asked so they could be responded to.” Jeremy Corbyn could have pointed out that responded to was not the same as answered, but the prime minister’s face had done all the talking necessary. A pink Dave is a Dave under pressure. |
| Corbyn’s fan base is undoubtedly a great deal stronger outside parliament than it is on the opposition benches and the Labour leader had received a decidedly muted welcome from his own MPs for his second PMQs. But by the end he had just about won most over, apart from those diehard fans of the old-fashioned high-decibel knockabout. | Corbyn’s fan base is undoubtedly a great deal stronger outside parliament than it is on the opposition benches and the Labour leader had received a decidedly muted welcome from his own MPs for his second PMQs. But by the end he had just about won most over, apart from those diehard fans of the old-fashioned high-decibel knockabout. |
| Labour might be in a mess over the fiscal charter – there was no sign of the shadow chancellor at PMQs as John McDonnell was too busy redrafting his “Why my U-turn isn’t a U-turn” speech ahead of Wednesday evening’s debate – but Corbyn is not the mug Cameron’s lack of preparation suggested he takes him for. Having briefed everyone in advance that he would again be adopting the Santa postbag approach he used at his first PMQs, Cameron was trusting enough to take the Labour leader at his word. | Labour might be in a mess over the fiscal charter – there was no sign of the shadow chancellor at PMQs as John McDonnell was too busy redrafting his “Why my U-turn isn’t a U-turn” speech ahead of Wednesday evening’s debate – but Corbyn is not the mug Cameron’s lack of preparation suggested he takes him for. Having briefed everyone in advance that he would again be adopting the Santa postbag approach he used at his first PMQs, Cameron was trusting enough to take the Labour leader at his word. |
| When Corbyn opened with a question on tax credits from Kelly, Cameron’s eyes glazed over in chillaxed bliss. “National living wage, everyone better off, yadda yadda, yadda,” said Dave, before a little voice in his head reminded him to mention Kelly by name. “Kelly, Kelly, Kelly will be better, better, better off.” Yay, job done. Bring on the next moaner from Radio Somewhere Up North. Only this time Corbyn had a follow-up question. “Actually Kelly will be £1,800 worse off.” Would the prime minister like to have another go at answering the question? | When Corbyn opened with a question on tax credits from Kelly, Cameron’s eyes glazed over in chillaxed bliss. “National living wage, everyone better off, yadda yadda, yadda,” said Dave, before a little voice in his head reminded him to mention Kelly by name. “Kelly, Kelly, Kelly will be better, better, better off.” Yay, job done. Bring on the next moaner from Radio Somewhere Up North. Only this time Corbyn had a follow-up question. “Actually Kelly will be £1,800 worse off.” Would the prime minister like to have another go at answering the question? |
| Related: McDonnell dismisses suggestions Labour MPs will rebel over tonight's fiscal charter vote - Politics live | Related: McDonnell dismisses suggestions Labour MPs will rebel over tonight's fiscal charter vote - Politics live |
| Not in the slightest, it seemed, as Dave scrabbled for a folder that might give him a more detailed answer than was generally required for Radio Somewhere Up North. “All these people benefit,” Dave said. Kelly had by now been long forgotten, to be lumped in the catch-all “these people”. These people being people not like him. | Not in the slightest, it seemed, as Dave scrabbled for a folder that might give him a more detailed answer than was generally required for Radio Somewhere Up North. “All these people benefit,” Dave said. Kelly had by now been long forgotten, to be lumped in the catch-all “these people”. These people being people not like him. |
| Corbyn now adopted the air of a long-serving academic, reluctantly forced into explaining something very simple to an irritatingly dim student. “The prime minister is doing his best and I admire that,” he said, failing to disguise his ennui. But could he try just a little harder to explain why Kelly would be broke? A puce Cameron snapped. “I don’t really give a toss about Kelly,” he said. Or words to that effect. “If she can somehow struggle by for another four years she will be just fine.” | Corbyn now adopted the air of a long-serving academic, reluctantly forced into explaining something very simple to an irritatingly dim student. “The prime minister is doing his best and I admire that,” he said, failing to disguise his ennui. But could he try just a little harder to explain why Kelly would be broke? A puce Cameron snapped. “I don’t really give a toss about Kelly,” he said. Or words to that effect. “If she can somehow struggle by for another four years she will be just fine.” |
| Tax credits are the Tories’ weakest link and Corbyn might have been better off just pushing Cameron further and further into a corner. Instead, he went back to his postbag and unexpectedly struck lucky with a question about housing from Matthew. Unexpectedly, because large numbers of the Tory benches found the prospect of Matthew never being able to afford his home hysterically funny and burst out laughing. Dave turned round to give them a dirty look; suitably chastened, they all re-applied their compassionate faces. The re-emergence of the nasty party had been just a temporary lapse. | Tax credits are the Tories’ weakest link and Corbyn might have been better off just pushing Cameron further and further into a corner. Instead, he went back to his postbag and unexpectedly struck lucky with a question about housing from Matthew. Unexpectedly, because large numbers of the Tory benches found the prospect of Matthew never being able to afford his home hysterically funny and burst out laughing. Dave turned round to give them a dirty look; suitably chastened, they all re-applied their compassionate faces. The re-emergence of the nasty party had been just a temporary lapse. |
| Related: PMQs: Corbyn accuses Cameron of limiting life chances of children | Related: PMQs: Corbyn accuses Cameron of limiting life chances of children |
| The leader of the opposition had got his facts about starter homes all wrong, Dave said. Four hundred and fifty grand for a starter home was absolutely top whack. He could envision a new utopia where hundreds of thousands of £150,000 starter homes within walking distance of Harrods would be available in a matter of weeks. “Would the prime minister like to return to reality?” Corbyn asked. | |
| Not really, but then fortunately he didn’t really need to as he was on to much easier questions from Victoria of Banbury and Tom of Corby – aka Tory MPs Victoria Prentis and Tom Pursglove. Nothing from Michael of Surrey Heath, though. Gove was the day’s other noticeable absentee, unavoidably detained in a locked room where he was being thumbscrewed and flogged by Philip Hammond, Theresa May and Chris Grayling for having forced the Tories into a U-turn of their own over Saudi prison contracts. That thought elicited Dave’s single genuine smile of the day. | Not really, but then fortunately he didn’t really need to as he was on to much easier questions from Victoria of Banbury and Tom of Corby – aka Tory MPs Victoria Prentis and Tom Pursglove. Nothing from Michael of Surrey Heath, though. Gove was the day’s other noticeable absentee, unavoidably detained in a locked room where he was being thumbscrewed and flogged by Philip Hammond, Theresa May and Chris Grayling for having forced the Tories into a U-turn of their own over Saudi prison contracts. That thought elicited Dave’s single genuine smile of the day. |
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