All Jeremy Corbyn had to do was be gracious to Theresa May at her last PMQs – as expected, he failed

Her last appearance at the despatch box brought forth a mixture of heartfelt tribute, hypocrisy and graceless partisanship

All Jeremy Corbyn had to do was to say something generous about Theresa May and ask a gently sceptical question about what she thinks of Boris Johnson.

So it came as some surprise when the Labour leader said something forgiving about the prime minister – “I hope she has a marginally more relaxing time” – and hoped that she would join him in “opposing the reckless plans of her successor”.

But that wasn’t his question. It was just a preamble to a graceless assault on May’s record on child and pensioner poverty, violent crime, NHS waiting times, school class sizes, homelessness and food banks.

I know Corbyn’s appeal to his supporters is built on being an uncompromising Tory-hater who doesn’t observe the niceties of the establishment, but there are ways of using humour and politeness and still being vicious.

The prime minister showed him how. “As a party leader who has accepted when her time is up, perhaps the time has come for him to do the same.” The Conservative benches, in the usual hypocritical admiration of a leader who they had done in, cheered delightedly.

It was some achievement to make her final appearance at the despatch box at least in part about the inadequacy of the opposition’s leadership. She was greatly assisted by a later question from Ian Austin, the former Labour MP now sitting as an independent, who said he agreed with her, and “the vast majority of Lab MPs agree with her too”. The guilty silence on the Labour side of the House confirmed his assessment.

Ian Blackford, the Scottish National Party leader at Westminster, showed Corbyn how it should have been done. He praised May’s public service, and even thanked Gavin Barwell, her chief of staff, for keeping him informed, before inviting the outgoing prime minister to sign an SNP motion to “stop the suspension of parliament”.

Then we were on to an even-longer-than-usual extended session in which John Bercow, the speaker, called a series of MPs to offer their spontaneous tributes to the outgoing prime minister.

Helen Grant, Conservative, praised her record in legislating against domestic violence. Charles Walker, Conservative, called her a “thoroughly good egg”. Even Nigel Dodds, whose DUP kept her in power and helped to put her out of it by opposing her Brexit deal, thanked her for “her years of public service”.

Yvette Cooper, who was May’s shadow at the Home Office and one of her most difficult opponents as prime minister, praised her “integrity” and asked if she would speak up against a no-deal Brexit. May was so taken aback by the praise that she apologised for saying that, if Cooper was so against a no-deal Brexit, she should have voted for the deal.

Jo Swinson, the new leader of the Liberal Democrats, allowed May to return to the attack on Labour, the only party in the Commons that has not had a female leader.

After Harriet Harman paid the final generous tribute, the Tory side of the House rose to give a tearful May a standing ovation. Corbyn, graceless to the end, remained seated on the Labour front bench, although there were a few clappers on the opposition backbenches.

But, as Corbyn prepares to face his third Conservative prime minister, he must think he is doing a good job.