Ed Miliband: David Cameron has 'gone from hug a husky to gas a badger'

In a heated PMQs debate, two leaders trade blows over green policy

David Cameron, here hugging a husky, has been accused of backtracking on green policies (PA)

It may be one of those where you had to be there, but Ed Miliband got the biggest laugh in Prime Minister’s Questions today by accusing David Cameron of going from “hug a husky to gas a badger”.

The joke came as the Labour leader accused his Conservative counterpart of abandoning the green policies he had backed before coming to power.

David Cameron has put all green taxes under review, despite repeated promises by the Chancellor that the measures make “ economic sense”.

Mr Miliband said today: “Who was it who said: ‘Vote blue, go green’? I think it was this Prime Minister. Who was it who said as leader of the opposition: ‘I think green taxes as a whole need to go up’? It was him.

“He has been talking about my record as Energy Secretary. Did he oppose the Energy Bill of 2010? No, he supported the Energy Bill of 2010.”

“Doesn’t he feel faintly embarrassed that in 5 short years he has gone from hug a husky to gas a badger?”

Mr Cameron responded: “The only embarrassing thing is this tortured performance.” But the exchange, drawing attention to an apparent u-turn from the Prime Minister, was described as a victory for Labour by the BBC’s Political Editor Nick Robinson.

It was countered by a positive exchange for the Conservatives on the economy and employment. Today’s PMQs coincided with the announcement that unemployment continues to fall as Britain’s financial position grows stronger, with the number of people in work reaching a record high of almost 30 million.

It is also worth pointing out that the badger cull does not yet involve the use of gas.

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