View all newsletters
Sign up to our newsletters

Support 110 years of independent journalism.

  1. Politics
  2. The Staggers
17 October 2018

Theresa May’s enemies are perplexed by her anti-austerity pledge – but so are her allies

The promise is good for winning parliamentary exchanges but its longterm political value is less clear.

By Stephen Bush

In practice, Prime Ministers Questions has two functions: the first is that it is a useful device for the Prime Minister of the day to exert control over their government, the second is that, as with party political broadcasts, they are a good insight into what the big two political parties actually think the next election is going to be about and also a useful way of checking the health of their messaging.

PMQs is fundamentally different from a televised debate but some of the backroom skills necessary to get through them and to anticipate possible bear traps are the same. So what does PMQs tell us at the moment?

On the Conservative side, it tells us that Theresa May is pushing on with this line about “ending austerity” even though from a policy perspective, spending restraint is not going to end. I don’t understand why she thinks this is a good idea, but I take comfort from the fact that most Conservative MPs and according to today’s Guardian the Chancellor of the Exchequer are similarly mystified.  

Sure, crowing about ending austerity can and will hand May a couple of victories over Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs. In today’s session, which was more of a dour draw than anything else, May essentially decided that, although it made no sense in response to what Corbyn had said, to close off with a prepared mini-speech about ending austerity. It was not a great mini-speech in truth. But she is riding for a fall when public spending continues to be squeezed and those consequences may be felt as soon as the Budget on 29 October.

As for Corbyn, he has started to use all six of his questions to talk about Brexit fairly regularly – an approach which, like May’s, seems misguided. To do Brexit well in the PMQS format you need to be a master of the policy detail and skilled at thinking on your feet – neither of which can truthfully be said of the Labour leader. Also, his parliamentary party, like the Conservatives, is split on the issue. Added to that, the Labour leadership has decided it believes that the path to the next election runs through England’s small, Leave-voting towns. And although Labour’s Brexit position is harder than many of its MPs and some of its activists would like, it is several degrees softer than that preferred by many of the voters the party is targeting. Brexit also does less well for the party on Facebook than clips of Jeremy Corbyn on core domestic issues.

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

There is really only one audience for Corbyn using all six of his questions on Brexit: politicos who tend to roll their eyes on Twitter when the Labour leader avoids the topic. He could get the best of both worlds by asking one question on Brexit and then moving onto other things, rather than favouring an approach that plays to his weaknesses. This is less of a problem for him than May’s “we’re ending austerity” shtick as the loss is one of an opportunity foregone rather than a hostage to fortune. But it still means both leaders are, at present, making problems for themselves.

Content from our partners
Development finance reform: the key to climate action
Individually rare, collectively common – how do we transform the lives of people with rare diseases?
Future proofing the NHS

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU