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I'll reiterate my theme of recent months.

"Given that the current £1.4 trillion national debt and recent gilt auction failure, can the Prime Minister reassure the country that there is no danger of Britain's sovereign credit rating being downgraded from AAA?"

"What are the annual interest payments on the Prime Minister's national debt?"

"Can the Prime Minister reassure the country that there is no danger of Briain having to go to the IMF for emergency help, as happened under the last Labour government?"

I think there's scope to work in a line on the petitions (and about Downing Street deleting signatures to censor it).

DC should repeat the line that "All Labour governments run out of other people's money"

I have a simple plan, outlined here.

Cameron: Is the Prime Minister aware that there is a petition, on his own website, calling for him to resign, with over 27,000 signatures already?

Brown: I'm far to busy saving the world to take any notice of petitions from the public. Perhaps the party opposite would prefer it if I wasted my time listening to the public rather than .. er ... oh ...er... [sits down]

All: ahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahaahaaha..... [continue until retirement on health grounds]

Gurkhas!!!!! jeeeez will he say anything to be popular?

Brown must be wondering about this apparent pincer movement. Has he blundered into a trap that will play out over the next weeks?

Joshieboy, he'll raise the issue of people who have put their lives on the line for our country and who the government wants to just wash their hands of

@Joshuwahwah

Quite a few on the Labour benches seem concerned about the Ghurkas too!

"jeeeez will he say anything to be popular?"

This from a supporter of the man who suddenly imagined his own set of expenses rules without consulting with anyone, and then blabbed them to us in the creepiest and most insincere video of all time.

Our backbenchers are blunt.

This was a good line of discussion from Cameron. The public are currently worried about the flu breakout, so probing questions were required on that. As Jonathan said, also a good time to raise the issue of the gurkhas.

That was horrible with brown being overgreasy and the people behind him backing him up, and everyone else having nothing to say but ghurkas.

Well, last question was half interesting, after the review was already made!

ok, the last before one question before the speaker decided his mate brown needed a bit more support again.

The Gurkha issue is extremely important. But Cameron did that for himself and his popularity and not the Gurkha's. Where has he been all week on the issue? nowhere.

It was hilarious when the Speaker announced the Prime Minister's Statement, and Gordon Brown started to leave...

In his mind, he's already lost.

Where has he been all week on the issue? nowhere.

So What. Does he have to signal his PMQs issues all week before hand?

His giving credit to Clegg was very proper of him. Caught between the two of them, Brown is even more defenceless.

I would have welcomed Brown's use of YouTube, but asked whether he had operated the camera himself.

If he answered 'no', then a response could have been that it was great that at least one other person was aware of his proposals before he made them as his own party and the opposition leaders were left completely in the dark.

Full marks to Nick Clegg for doing all the donkey work on the Gurkahs- their treatment is shameful.

Gordon is going to save us all from Swine Flu now, by getting Alan Johnson to send us all a leaflet. How stupid does he think we are?

Gordon Brown is beneath contempt.

Why the Hell did Cameron waste a question on swine flu, a story blown out of all proportion by the media? Remember bird flu was going to wipe us all out? Get a grip Dave.

"The public are currently worried about the flu breakout, so probing questions were required on that."

"The public" is not the same as the tabloids. I haven't spoken to anyone all day who is fussing about this.

I think that Cameron could ask whether the government came fully clean about the extent of government debt in the budget or whether there are still a few billions hidden off balance sheet. If so, what are they and how much do they add up to?

Also, in order to avoid another home grown credit boom and bust as inflation takes over as a result of this government's profligacy, would it not be a good idea to replace the CPI by a much more realistic index of inflation, to ensure that the MCP in future is controlling the right level of inflation?

One photo of Cameron in a flu mask and I defect to Labour.

"Gurkhas!!!!! jeeeez will he say anything to be popular?"

Shouldn't you be asking whether Brown will do anything to be popular. Take the terrible YouTube video for example. Had he - or his advisers - noticed the hit that Daniel Hannan had and decided a similar video might work for Brown?

Then there was yesterday's visit to Auschwitz. With anyone else that could have been accepted as a tribute to those who died so horribly. With Brown there is the suspicion that the visit was aimed at getting favourable press coverage. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have worked.

The near silence on the Labour benches was ominous for Brown.

Have to say that I found the Labour MP's question attempting to turn the Expenses issue into class warfare was quite disgraceful. There are sinners and saints on expenses on all Sides of the House and it ill behoves any Labour MP to slur the Tories in this way.But then the Govts whole approach on this issue is to be totally tribal and to manouevre to get political advantage rather than some sort of consensual approach. I was appalled by Liam Byrnes comments outside Downing Street last night.Pure and utter tribalism and spin.

I can see the real possibility (not sure its a probability) of Browns emaining authority being just about smashed by a vote pon the Gurkas tonight and the Expenses issue tomorow. On the latter I believe the Tory front bench should support Brfowns tattered remnant of his original proposals or else it looks as though we are just not in tune with public anger on this issue. But frankly, MP's on all Sides are so mutinous about the way in which Brown has mishandled it that I would not be surprised if there was widescale rebellion in the House tomorrow.

"Given that the current £1.4 trillion national debt and recent gilt auction failure, can the Prime Minister reassure the country that there is no danger of Britain's sovereign credit rating being downgraded from AAA?"

"What are the annual interest payments on the Prime Minister's national debt?"

- These are the questions that should be asked. In addition to the "resign" petition. Todays PMQ's were dull. Lets get back to really attacking Brown for his biggest failures.

Richardj. I think the parents of the twenty three month old baby who as just died from it are concerned or the parents of the twelve year old who as it in Torbay.
It is right that the government should take measures to deal with this and for the opposition to asks questions about those measures as trhis virus could mean the differance between life and death for some people if the thing spreads.

"I think the parents of the twenty three month old baby who as just died from it are concerned or the parents of the twelve year old who as it in Torbay. It is right that the government take measures to deal with this and for the opposition to asks questions about those measures as trhis virus could mean the differance [sic] between life and death for some people if the thing spreads"

So Her Majesty's Official Opposition are potential baby killers now, according to the nulab spin machine, eh Jack?

That's low even for a unquestioning stooge like you.

What is right is that the Opposition asks the difficult but essential questions in order to do their duty and hold the government to account over whether it is fulfilling its duty of care and not attempting to spin its way out of trouble at a (sometimes fatal) cost to people's health - you know, like it usually does.

That's what a responsible and competent Opposition does. And the sooner this first-rate Opposition, the Conservative Party, forms a government, the better for us all.

Get used to it.

Don't worry, Gordon's got it under control. Once we all get our leaflet from Alan Johnson, we'll have no further need to worry.

I am so glad that Nick clegg made this debate happen today and I am glad the Government was defeated. However, David Cameron stood outside the Houses of Parliament claiming credit for this and butting in over Nick Clegg for political gain is sickening.

RichardJ - ""The public" is not the same as the tabloids. I haven't spoken to anyone all day who is fussing about this."

I have. Much to my surprise, 2 of the 4 people who report to me have been fussing about it today.

Denverthen - Much as I disagree with most of Jack's postings, I can see nothing in his message to suggest that he is trying to paint the Opposition as baby killers. He says it is right for the opposition to ask questions about the measures the government takes to deal with swine flu. That seems to me to be exactly the same as your point. So it looks to me like you are violently agreeing with him!

Well there is complete agreement in our office, a bizarre mix of people if ever there was one, that anyone wearing a flu mask or preparing their bunkers is crazy and deserves to be mocked and bullied.

Mark Fulford - looks like you were right, but it didn't take quite so long to play out :-)

Government defeat...

"I am so glad that Nick clegg made this debate happen today and I am glad the Government was defeated. However, David Cameron stood outside the Houses of Parliament claiming credit for this and butting in over Nick Clegg for political gain is sickening." - Joshuwahwah.

What desperate spin and trolling. Knowing that a defeat was on the cards, you decided to attack the principle victors. 267 MPs voted for the change today and about 70% of them were Conservative. We see this when a Minister decides to praise his LibDem counterpart (who is no threat).

I thought that it was a pretty uninteresting
PMQ's and although D.C. was right to ask questions about Gurkas and Flu, I feel that an opportunity to make Brown squirm further over the awful mess our balance of payments is in, was missed.

"David Cameron stood outside the Houses of Parliament claiming credit for this and butting in over Nick Clegg for political gain is sickening."

If Conservative bloggers and politicians had played no part in the debate you would be right. However, the groundswell of public disgust about Labour duplicity was evident inside the Conservative party and D.C. had every right to make hay while the sun shone, that's what good leaders do. As it is Nutty Nick had jumped onto the bandwagon and was shamelessly trying to make political capital from our initiative. :-)

Peter: "So it looks to me like you are violently agreeing with him!"

Yes, that was a pretty poor post by me, upon reflection. I get a touch of the blinding red (blue?) mist whenever I come across the ordinarily extraordinarily wrongheaded and disingenuous scribbles from a man who is, basically, some sort of plant. Whether he's an official Labour plant or he planted himself is unknowable.

But thanks for your gentle (appropriate) rebuke - and apologies to Mr Stone, this time.

It's tough for the government to give direct answers when it comes to things like swine flu, which can't really be predicted..

I have read the article based on the Swine flu which is spreading rapidly and its outbreak.A subdued session of PMQs, dominated as it was by swine 'flu and then the Gurkhas.The different trends to be followed for the safety of normal peoples and the victims of swine flu.The proper awareness should be regulated for the safety.

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