It was on the radio when I came in. I just caught the start of it. Michael Martin was telling off David Cameron for asking Tony Blair during PMQs who he thinks should be the next leader of the Labour Party. I didn’t see it on the television, but it certainly sounded very interesting indeed.
It sounded to me a bit like Cameron didn’t quite know what to do. Recess Monkey notes that Cameron came very close to calling Michael Martin a liar.
Martin is probably right that, as it is nothing to do with government business, it is not the sort of question to be asking during PMQs. But Martin discredited himself by suggesting that PMQs is meant to be for challenging the government.
It’s a bit much to suggest that PMQs is an effective place to challenge the government. As far as I can tell, PMQs is nothing more than a platform for MPs to crawl around on their hands and knees, do a massive shit on each other, then gleefully roll around in that shit.
I read the blow by blow of PMQs on BBC at lunch today and decided never to do so again. It just makes me so angry how Tony Blair ignores every actual question and just throws back some statistics that are very tenuously connected to the subject.
Q) Do you agree with the report showing that NHS staff moral is low?
A) We’ve reduced waiting lists!
Seriously, when did PMQs turn into a Dilbert cartoon?
I blame the electoral system. I know I alsways blame the electoral system, but the problem is that while the House is supposed to hold the Govt to account, it isn’t going to in a house with a large majority as Blair’s always had. He’s under no threat, and the party machine ensures that MPs are always reminded of the threat to their seats if they’re seen to be ‘disunited’.
Change the system, make MPs do their jobs or be turfed out. But yeah, bloody stupid. Martin’s right though, constitutionally, the leader of the Labour party has nothing to do with the HoC nor with who is PM. It’s just precedent and convention that makes it seem otherwise.