After a series of unnoteworthy exchanges between David Cameron and Ed Miliband on Gaza and the NHS, today’s PMQs came to life right at the end. After Miliband declared that “the people of Corby spoke for the country”, Cameron replied that “the people of Humberside spoke for the entire nation”, a reference to John Prescott’s defeat in last week’s police and crime commissioner elections, which Prescott unfortunately described as “a referendum on everything the coalition has done”.
This artful riposte prompted cheers from Tory MPs, with Cameron responding, “happily, there is more”. And there was. After noting that Miliband had invoked Disraeli, compared himself to Thatcher, described himself as more eurosceptic than Bill Cash, and more pro-European than Tony Blair, he quipped: “he’s impersonated more politicians than Rory Bremner, but this time the joke’s on him”. It was Cameron’s best line for months and as the PM sat down, Tory MPs cried, “more! more!
Until that point, Miliband had had the better of the exchanges, with Cameron unable to answer the charge that he had broken his promise to prevent rationing on cost in the NHS. As the PM leaned over to Andrew Lansley, Miliband quipped, “don’t ask him for advice, you sacked him!” But the Labour leader then unwisely segued into last week’s elections, allowing Cameron to deliver his knockout blow.
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