PMQs: Cameron focuses on the pensions crisis and the Prime Minister's successor

David Cameron's first subject of the day: David Cameron joined the Prime Minister in paying tribute to the servicemen killed in Iraq and Afghanistan before raising the pensions crisis. He said the Budget changes were welcome but did not help people who have already retired and that 125,000 people who had paid into company pension schemes had been left with "little or nothing" after their collapse. He asked the Prime Minister to support Conservative amendments to the Pensions Bill to allow pensioners to "receive the pensions they worked so hard for".

David Cameron's second subject of the day: David Cameron challenged Tony Blair to endorse Gordon Brown as his successor. The Prime Minister repeatedly refused, instead praising Gordon Brown's performance in the debate on his record (not a view held universally) and attacking David Cameron's role in Black Wednesday. After listing the reasons why he didn't want Gordon Brown as Prime Minister David Cameron asked the Tony Blair "what does he think is wrong with him?"

Ming Moment of the Day: He said it was a "sad and sombre day" and asked about nurses pay and why they were considering striking. Ming said that the Government has "lost the confidence of health care workers and their patients."

Backbench question of the day: Angela Watkinson asked the Prime Minister to reverse the Government's decision to downgrade the classification of cannabis.

Line of the day: As Labour MPs heckled David Cameron's questions on pensions Cameron said "I hope MPs who are going to retire on fat pensions will actually listen because many of these people are getting nothing."

Andrew Burkinshaw

Comments

[Conservative Homer]

Blair: blah, blah...ERM...blah, blah...Black Wednesday.

Labour supported the ERM at the time Blair you liberal dimwit. A fact lost on the public. If Labour can get away with supporting this, can we get away with supporting the Iraq invasion?

[simon]

Well, Cameron came out ahead- that classic one liner to the Labour benches about pensions brought on a cheer- but that's to be expected since Bliar is 'damaged goods'. The whole event is just a tiresome bore until the Bliar resigns and we have the GB/DC contest. I hope some of the stale atmosphere of the 'boys club' wears off. Watching the 'Thatch' at the despatch box years ago makes me long for the days...

[Conservative Homer]

i should say labour fascist/socialist/scumbag PC/pension emptying dimwit.

[HF]

The BBC Panel responses were much more favourable to DC than the 3 studio guests, 2 Labour and 1 Conservative.

[Mark Fulford]

I don’t understand how this Punch and Judy over Brown helps Conservatives – or the country.

8,000 of the doctors who began studying medicine in 1998/9 are about to lose their training positions and careers – just before they become fully qualified. These people were among the first to be recruited by a Labour government that still boasts of huge increases in investment and recruitment. But it’s totally New Labour that the boast masks chronically incompetent waste. £2 billion spent on training these doctors is about to be lost by terminating their 9 year course in the 8th year, leaving them and us with nothing. It seems likely to me that the doctors are suffering a breach of contract that may end up being even more expensive to the taxpayer.

I’m disappointed that David Cameron sees banter about Brown as being more important. It should not have been left to Ming to bring up the NHS, even though Ming missed that the doctors’ crisis is bigger than nurses’ pay (although not as populist).

[Henry Rogers]

"The BBC Panel responses were much more favourable to DC than the 3 studio guests, 2 Labour and 1 Conservative." HE at 13:51

I think this is a regular pattern. The Perception Panel usually does give DC a favourable response and TB a very unfavourable one. Meanwhile studio guests and other commentators sometimes seem to have watched a different exchange. There doesn't seem to be much point in TB being 'brilliant at the despatch box' if the world outside Parliament has already already decided that he is talking b****cks.

Am I imagining it, or did Andrew Neill really say that responses throughout PMQ, not just the selections broadcast, would be published on the Web? If so I do hope Tim gives us a 'heads up'.

[MikeA]

It's all a waste of time until Blair is gone and real politics re-starts in this country. But I can't help but think that British troops are dying in Iran and Afghanistan, Iran is close(er) to acquiring nuclear weapons and missiles, crime is rampant across the UK, our NHS appears to be going backwards after spending epic sums of money on it...that the Conservative front bench should be eviscerating Labour's record...they don't seem to be in my view...

[Tom Davidson]

Hmm, my first post here. I guess we all have to start somewhere.

MikeA, I think the fairly quiet Conservative front bench at the moment is all about tactics. If they go for too aggressive an attack now it will all be wasted when Blair goes and Brown pretends to be a new start. The media has a very low boredom threshold for repeated attacks, so much better to save the juicy stuff up for when Brown's in charge.

I think most of the current attacks should be seen as trying to soften Brown up rather than deal a killer blow.

[Cumberland]

Two chances in the past week to inflict major damage on the Zanu-Labour party. First Browne and the Iranian hostage crisis, and then Brown and the pension heist.
The final score? Zanu Labour 2-Toryboys 0
So sad. These thugs/crooks/Liars eat the little boys for tea. Would getting rid of the Scots level the playing field?

[Cumberland]

The Scots? Including the three main party leaders of course.

[Henry Rogers]

(Two chances........etc) Cumberland 17:07 & 17:16

I think we do need to distinguish between the general public's reaction to parliamentary performances from staged managed support in the chamber.

I find the BBCs Perception Panel quite intersting in this respect. TB usually likes to switch on 'rant mode' at some point during PMQs which generates lots of support behind him. Public reaction as measured by the Perception Panel suggest that if anything the reverse is true outside.

It will be interesting to see how these panels react to Brown or Milliband or Reid or whoever. Questionable or irrelevant statements repeated very loudly and fiercely no longer win public support.

Browne's performance, which I watched on Sky, was so pitiful that I think most viewers would have been slightly embarrassed rather than anything else.

[David Sergeant]

I would suggest that the big point about PMQ was the Labour back benches heckling Cameron when he was talking about pensions. Surely this demonstrates the abject depths of the Labour party in general. By all means get at Blair and Brown but it is the party in general, the M.P.s and, presumably, members who should be the main target. (I know Cameron's response was great, but don't lose the the main target by dwelling on Cameron.)

[adamliv]

The whole perception panel can be viewed and replayed to your heart's content by downloading the special reader from www.perceptionpanel.com/clickvision perception panel.xls (17MB) or www.perceptionpanel.com/clickvision perception panel.zip (3MB)

It will automatically update to the latest panel but you need Excel and a broadband connection.

It's usually available within 30 minutes of the end of PMQs.