Prime Minister's Questions

[tank slapper]

Ed Milliband is such a pleb. The thought that he might be Prime Minister really is laughable.

[Chris_H]

I'm watching it and wondering what the point is of PMQs. They just rant at each other in a point scoring competition. It's really pretty pathetic to behold and embarrassing as an Englishman!

[Fittster]

What's the point of parliament as a whole? A small elite around Cameron decide policy, the average back bencher is nothing more than a jumped up social worker.

[Gun]

Minibland does seem to get a verbal beating whenever I watch PMQs. He's the perfect example of a modern politician, only good at delivering a pre-written speech.

[DJC]

Fittster said:

What's the point of parliament as a whole? A small elite around Cameron decide policy, the average back bencher is nothing more than a jumped up social worker.

Do you ever actually do anything apart from whinge?

[davepoth]

Chris_H said:

I'm watching it and wondering what the point is of PMQs. They just rant at each other in a point scoring competition. It's really pretty pathetic to behold and embarrassing as an Englishman!

If you turn over to BBC Parliament now, they're showing Ed Balls responding to George Osborne's banking statement. It's at a lower tempo, a bit less booing and jeering, and it lasts longer.

PMQs was reduced to the pantomime it is now by Tony Blair. It now doesn't give enough time to do anything else apart from score points.

[kelk]

tank slapper said:

Ed Milliband is such a pleb. The thought that he might be Prime Minister really is laughable.

OMG I hadn't realised he was a contender for the role - I thought he was hoping to be the guy who hands out the trays to the sixth form students when they go to collect their lunch.

That's a really scary thoguht now.

[Fittster]

DJC said:

Fittster said:

What's the point of parliament as a whole? A small elite around Cameron decide policy, the average back bencher is nothing more than a jumped up social worker.

Do you ever actually do anything apart from whinge?

Try and encourage people to think, clearly that would be wasted on you.

[AndrewW-G]

Fittster said:

DJC said:

Fittster said:

What's the point of parliament as a whole? A small elite around Cameron decide policy, the average back bencher is nothing more than a jumped up social worker.

Do you ever actually do anything apart from whinge?

I make people laugh

EFA

[ralphrj]

I hope that CMD made reference to this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politic...

[nutty slack]

DJC said:

Do you ever actually do anything apart from whinge?

[rs1952]

davepoth said:

PMQs was reduced to the pantomime it is now by Tony Blair. It now doesn't give enough time to do anything else apart from score points.

I was present in the Strangfers Gallery one Tuesday afternoon in the 80s when Margaret Thatcher and Neil Kinnock were scoring points off each other.

Turning it into pantomime is not something you can blame Tony Blair for - it was going on a long time before that

[rs1952]

Fittster said:

the average back bencher is nothing more than lobby fodder.

EFA

[davislove]

for me Milliband is looking the more controlled and balanced of the two at the moment, DC looks a little bit rattled by the job with his rowdy replies to questions

in any case, the place is in need of reform, interesting piece in the times today about the state of equilibrium in political debating under the current arrangements

[DSM2]

Gun said:

Minibland does seem to get a verbal beating whenever I watch PMQs. He's the perfect example of a modern politician, only good at delivering a pre-written speech.

You give him too much credit................

[DSM2]

rs1952 said:

I was present in the Strangfers Gallery one Tuesday afternoon in the 80s when Margaret Thatcher and Neil Kinnock were scoring points off each other.

Turning it into pantomime is not something you can blame Tony Blair for - it was going on a long time before that

I seem to remember that Bliar made significant changes to the format which have increased the tendency for it to become a pointless contest.

[tank slapper]

I think it was Blair who changed it to the single 30 minute format, instead of the twice weekly 15 minute format previously. He also seemed to field a huge number of 'Does the Prime Minister agree that the sun shines out of his backside?' type questions. Perhaps it was because of the large number of Labour MPs after 1997, but it seemed to turn into a promotional opportunity rather than any attempt at parliamentary scrutiny.

[rs1952]

tank slapper said:

I think it was Blair who changed it to the single 30 minute format, instead of the twice weekly 15 minute format previously.

[neilr]

I do rememebr reading that Cameron realised that Bliar would routinely use the last of his 6 questions for party political propaganda and ignore the actual question. So, he would not always ask his allotted siz questions, therefore not allowing the criminal Bliar to get his 'ZanuLabour are great' speech in at the end of every PMQs.

[hornetrider]

ralphrj said:

I hope that CMD made reference to this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politic...

Very funny.