It has taken a while, but it looks that Gordon Brown has finally got the measure of PMQs. In what was his most impressive performance to date he has conquered his stuttering and dispensed with all those irritating trite phrases.
The details of the Northern Rock are perhaps not of great interest to the wider public; however I would hope that people recognise that the government is trying to do something to safeguard the future of the bank. Gordon Brown was quite right to point out the lack of any alternative plan from the Tories.
David Cameron’s jokes were rather lame. The fact that he persisted in trotting them out rather than suggest any alternative for the bank only underlines his reputation for vacuousness. Jolly japes are fine from the stand-in leader of a minor party; one expects a bit more substance from someone who aspires to lead our country. The more personal and spiteful Cameron becomes, the more he resembles a public schoolboy bully. Hardly a vote winner in the long term.
May I suggest a compromise position? Whether Brown’s getting better at PMQ’s is unknown to me – I’m always sat in my office at lunch time on a Wednesday. But the highlights the BBC choose to show have got better since Brown got in.
But at the end of the day, it’s harmless theatre. I doubt many people decide the way they’re going to vote on despatch box performance.