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  1. Politics
5 September 2012

PMQs review: an unhappy return for Cameron

An irritable PM failed to land any significant blows on Ed Miliband.

By George Eaton

The first PMQs of the new parliamentary term was not one that David Cameron will want to remember. From the start, he was tetchy, irritable and, as a result, largely unpersuasive. Rather than attacking the reshuffle as a “shift to the right”, Ed Miliband chose to brand it the “no change reshuffle”, highlighting the PM’s failure to move George Osborne.

In response, Cameron declared: “I don’t want to move my Chancellor, he can’t move his shadow chancellor.” Given Osborne’s status as the most unpopular member of the cabinet, it was an odd boast. Earlier, referring to a report by the Daily Mail’s Andrew Pierce that Miliband “is the the one who always buys coffee for Balls”, Cameron sarcastically remarked that it showed how “assertive and butch” the Labour leader was. It was an odd jibe that pandered to his reputation as a bully and, at a time when the country is in recession, showed a lack of seriousness.

On the economy, Cameron pointed out that private sector employment had risen by 900,000 in the last two years (a misleading claim since 320,000 of those jobs were created under Labour) but with forecasters agreed that unemployment will rise significantly next year as public sector job cuts intensify, he won’t be able to use this boast for long.

Another notable moment came at the end when Labour MP John McDonnell, who represents Hayes and Harlington, asked Cameron to confirm that there will be no third runway at Heathrow while he leads his party. Cameron replied that he wanted to reach cross-party agreement on the future of aviation policy, but added: “I will not be breaking my manifesto pledge”. It was the clearest confirmation we’ve had that while no third runway will be built this parliament, it remains a serious option for the future.

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