The Sketch: Questions are not there to be dignified

Simon Carr

Thursday, 12 November 2009

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What is going through the Prime Minister's mind when he says of Cameron: "This is the man who made a cast-iron guarantee on a referendum on the Lisbon treaty!" He laughs lingeringly, and seems to enjoy the sally. His back benches roar away.

Does he believe what he's saying? That Cameron reneged on a referendum and he didn't? These days, people at the top of politics believe what they want and when they want – but in what way does Gordon Brown believe what he's saying? Now that people are saying he is fundamentally a decent man, is it worth wondering?

Does he muse to himself in his quiet moments: "It's as if they think I promised a referendum on the Lisbon treaty. But I never did. That was Jack Straw and Tony Blair. I was always against a referendum.

"And anyway, that manifesto was for a different government. Everything changed when I took over. It was the first thing I said in Downing Street. 'This is the time for change'.

"And anyway, that manifesto offered a referendum on a European Constitution whereas Lisbon was a constitutional treaty. Cameron offered a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. But we never offered a referendum on the Treaty. He broke his guarantee through sheer dithering."

There must be some argument like this underlying the line. Or is it just the Hate Hour in 1984 where the leader switches the audience's rage from enemy to ally and back? No, it can't be that because of the PM's fundamental decency. In which case the poor fellow is completely bats.

Cameron went back to the figures to ask: "Will he admit he's planning cuts next year?"

The answer came straight back: "Yet again, not one policy from the opposition!" What did that mean? When adulterers are accused by their wives they admit their guilt by saying, "I'm not going to dignify that with a reply." Now they can say: "Not one policy from the opposition!"

Cameron suggested that if you took out unemployment benefit and debt costs, public spending was, by the government figures, set to fall by 0.7 per cent.

The answer: "Conservatives were responsible for the highest levels of unemployment this country has ever seen and would take us back if they had the chance."

The fall in spending is sofa-change but it cannot be admitted. The PM told Cameron he was wrong about that and wrong about everything.

Wot, everything?

EVERYTHING! YOU TINY FOOLS!

simoncarr@sketch.sc

Comments

( Leave a comment )

There is no point to Prime Minister's questions if he never answers any.

peter_holl wrote:

Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 11:40 am (UTC)

One thing that Parliament should insist upon when ministers answer questions is that the Speaker, like a judge in court, tells a witness giving evidence to answer the question put. Too often it seems that PMQs is questions from the PM to the Leader of the Opposition on the "Well what would you do?" or "You're going to do something far worse" or "Your lot did this or that 15-20 years ago so it's all your fault" or "Things were worse when you were last in power, so yaboo to you".

This kind of answer is expected from children but not from a grown up. Gordon Brown (and increasingly Labour Ministers) seem to have some kind amnesia about how long they have been in power as they seem to think that every question about their failures has to be answered with a "you lot are going to do this that or the other" as if that means we can forget what has been done, or not done, these past 12� years.

There is no accountability from this Govt for any of its actions inside Parliament... Alan Johnson apologies for immigration failures outside Parliament to a soft audience who aren't going to interrogate him. Gordon Brown never apologises for anything in Parliament, despite having made boastful assertions (no boom and bust; prudent spending; no return to the failures of previous Govts; Britain is better placed to come out of the crisis than other countries, child poverty will be ended by 2012!!).

Humility is a virtue: hubris isn't.

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Is question time just public-school theatre?

had_it wrote:

Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 02:02 pm (UTC)

I won't dignify that question with an answer

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Another devastating analysis from Simon Carr

danlee1001 wrote:

Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 05:18 pm (UTC)

Brown's PMQ performances have become horribly defensive and tedious, especially the new "wrong" line - it's only one step removed from "I know you are but what am I?". At least he could do us the courtesy of trying changing the subject away from the question; nowadays he just repeats the same, wholly irrelevant, reasons for not answering the question ("not policy!","wrong!"). Clunking fist indeed.

Alas, things have gotten to the stage where the only ambition for the government is to get by from one week to the next. By not answering any questions, Brown ensures that he doesn't get any answers wrong, and we are treated to the depressing spectacle of the government slowing dying.

Do you think Gordon Brown reads this column? I hope he does, it might help with the lack of self-awareness he displays at PMQs each week.

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