I have seen many people praise Nick Clegg's performance. Apart from the Ashcroft/Whelan line all he seemed to be saying was: "It's not fair". To be fair to him, he was completely drowned out by MPs of both the other parties, but he should have sat down and waited for the Speaker to calm things down.
Cameron 8
Brown 4
Clegg 6
Brown 4
Clegg 6
UPDATE: Cameron's pleas for unionised workers to break the strike appear to be paying dividends. BA has just announced that it is flying more planes than expected on Saturday after more staff have volunteered to work.
And michael white from the guardian scores it completely differently as a draw for Brown and Cameron. Don't undermine your credibility by being so ridiculously partisan now!
ReplyDeleteA reasonable point if I never scored Brown higher than Cameron (which I often have). I can never, ever recall Michael White scoring Cameron the winner, so for him to call it a draw, means that Cameron won. Capice?!
ReplyDeleteCameron is enjoying PMQs, he has Brown quivering with unease, the PMs only response seems to be a Pavlovian ejaculation: "Lord Ashcroft...."
ReplyDeleteThe time is perfect to keep up the pressure as Labour backbenchers are rendered dumbfound when their leader is being palpably (and regularly)humiliated. Attack!
As much as I agree with you Iain, and I do enjoy seeing Brown get his come-uppance, it is rather pointless of DC to waste one of his questions repeating 'Will the PM encourage workers to cross picket lines?'. As if Brown, or any Socialist PM, is likely - EVER - to agree with that premise.
ReplyDeleteMuch better if he had persued the Chilcott line about Brown being economical with the truth over Defence funding. Now that was a good question, which Brown tried to push aside with the usual tractor stats: it needed following up. Then perhaps he could have linked to the BA strike and the fact that, in the absence of adequate Tactical Air Transport Support, we rely on civilian airlines to transport our troops.
Whatever, let's hope that DC gets more coaching from WH. Only three more PMQs to go before it will be DC's turn to answer questions - but from whom? That is the question.
Particularly at the start Brown was all over the place but eventually got some good points across. Cameron looked like the complete opportunist that he is. For pure partisan political reasons he revealed his glee at any damaging strike proceeding. He's no potential PM and yet again revealed more proof.
ReplyDeleteFurther proof of the political opportunism of Cameron is exposed on the Coffee House Blog of Cameron in action at PMQ's November 2006 when to quote the Coffee House blog "After watching that, I chanced upon an exchange between Blair and Cameron, dated November 2006. Their subject? NHS budget cuts. The first two minutes of the clip reinforce just how complicit the Conservatives were in Brown and Blair’s free for all. Cameron was aghast that "budgets were being raided to solve financial deficits".
You Tube link...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpVycRpa2L8&feature=player_embedded
David Cameron came across as petulant and opportunistic.
ReplyDeleteWin for Gordon Brown in my opinion.
Michael White as some sort of yardstick of objectivity. Now there's an off the wall idea.
ReplyDeleteI support neither the Conservatives, Nu-Labour nor the Liberal Democrats so I can give an unbiased opinion. Cameron won by a landslide.
ReplyDeleteEven Brown's statement that he got defense spending wrong in real terms was like drawing blood from a stone.
There is only one thing worse than the bedlam of PMQ's and that is the crass, biased performances of Speaker Bercow. His biased performance yesterday was appalling. The sooner the better... You know what I mean
White scored it 4 to 3 to DC last week.....
ReplyDeleteNot sure about your spelling of "capice", Iain. Per WikiAnswers...
ReplyDelete"Capite is Italian for "to understand/understood"
In North America it has morphed into capishe or capiche. It means the same thing."
I was listening to PMQs while driving to a meeting. Brown was slapped round, and rightly so, and his continual evasion of answering questions along with his rank hypocrisy - making accusations of partisan politics before retreatng to using a few of his own - shows his own huge shortcomings in leading this country.
ReplyDeleteBut I also saw it as an opportunity missed by Cameron. He chose to try and push a point that everyone knows was never going to be even remotely addressed. Perhaps he was taken by surprise by the answer but the defence spending question was an open goal that he missed, while the budget comments by Liam Byrne were another subject he really should have gone after.
It's a step up and for once we're seeing an opposition actually making something of an effort, but with such a weak and ineffecive Government PMQ's are hardly a triumphant session for Cameron and he could do a lot better.
"...the PMs only response seems to be a Pavlovian ejaculation..."
ReplyDeletePlease! The imagery is ... well... never mind
And today's labour troll word of the day is 'opportunistic'
ReplyDeleteIf GB continues to 'win' PMQs like this just what does he jave to do to 'lose'?
Dave has pinned the Unite monkey on GB's back
Is there ever a time when you don't say Cameron pulverises Brown. Cameron only has to fart and you think he has made a fantastic speech.
ReplyDeleteKenny murphy: can you, or anyone else please explain what is wrong with opportunism? If a footballer ever said after a match that he didn't kick the ball into the net because he would have been opportunist, he would be regarded as nuts. Opportunism is taking an opportunity, what on eart is wrong with that?
ReplyDeleteKenny murphy: can you, or anyone else please explain what is wrong with opportunism? If a footballer ever said after a match that he didn't kick the ball into the net because he would have been opportunist, he would be regarded as nuts. Opportunism is taking an opportunity, what on eart is wrong with that?
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that Cameron scored and scored again and won outright. By repetition of just one question, he held the focus on Labour being in thrall to Unite.
ReplyDeleteNext I want to see an attack on the scandal of the taxpayer financing Unite through the Union Modernisation Fund.
Half the Story - Iains selective memory doesn't go back seven days.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRed Rag, clearly you selectively read this blog. I can recall two weeks in February when I gave Brown higher marks and several occasions in the latter part of last year.
ReplyDeleteBut clearly you only read what you want to read and which suits your own prejudices.
Putting partisanship aside I thought the thoughtful and courteous manner in which Tony Baldry rightly called the PM to account, and indeed the equally courteous and forthright reply was a textbook illustration of how these exchanges should be conducted. Sir Anthony Steen's intelligent contribution also reflected well on his party. It's just a shame Lightweight had to open his gob, as it all rather went downhill at that point.
ReplyDeleteI don't trust Iain's scoring.
ReplyDeleteOn several occasions last month he gave it to Brown.
The only thing Cameron got wrong was not to challenge Gordon on the fact that the taxpayer is handing over millions to the unions by way of a 'modernisation fund' and Unite promptly gives back £11million to Labour.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, Labour is being funded by the taxpayer. In any other walk of life this would be considered fraudulent.
When spending cuts are being drawn up, the first to go should be the modernisation fund. If unions need to modernise, let them pay for it.
It would be nice if the Speaker would insist on the PM answering all the questions, rather than just the planted questions from his own backbenchers.
ReplyDeleteWhat does Bercow expect to gain by sucking up to Labour?
Cameron did well today. He reduced the PM to a st..st..st..stammering wreck.
@Jimmy
ReplyDeleteToday's PMQs shows the so called heavy weight is a deadweight and clunking fist can direct its hit to the body to which it belongs!
"Putting partisanship aside I thought the thoughtful and courteous manner in which Tony Baldry rightly called the PM to account, and indeed the equally courteous and forthright reply was a textbook illustration of how these exchanges should be conducted. Sir Anthony Steen's intelligent contribution also reflected well on his party. It's just a shame Lightweight had to open his gob, as it all rather went downhill at that point."
ReplyDeletePutting partisanship aside I admire the thoughtful and courteous manner of the first part of this post. It's a textbook case of how to inflate an already burgeouning ego. It's just a shame he said "Lightweight" towards the end and showed himself up for the true red in claw hypocrite he is.
"Hackney Central Labour said...
ReplyDeleteDon't undermine your credibility by being so ridiculously partisan now!"
This from someone with the handle "Hackney Central Labour" - how beautifully ironic.
Red Rag said:
ReplyDeleteIs there ever a time when you don't say Cameron pulverises Brown. Cameron only has to fart and you think he has made a fantastic speech.
I have to say that even Cameron farting would always be better than the shit Brown serves up