Verdict: a game of two halves, resulting in a draw. Review: After several lame duck sessions, in which the Leader of the Opposition tamely let Cameron look like a world leader, Miliband came back fighting this time round. It was nice to see some spark in the House again after such an absence. Certainly the fact […]

Yesterday was budget day. It was dominated, rather strangely, by two things that had very little to do with the budget itself. One was how bad Miliband’s response on the floor to it was (and how you saw that depends greatly on your own partisan interests). The second was the now already infamous “Beer and […]

Verdict: another one for Cameron, but like the last time they met, mostly given away by Miliband Review: This was a semi-repeat of the last proper PMQS (see March 5th), with one important wrinkle: Ed Miliband took my advice and decided not to use every single one of his six questions making David Cameron look […]

Nick Clegg was on the radio today talking about how the tax cut for lower earners in no way hurt the “middle earners” who were paying into the 40p band. The fact that he was given this to talk about was a very good thing for Lib Dems, since this helps the party to reclaim […]

Conservative MP Andrew Stephenson has called for the termination of postal voting on demand and asked that only those who can demonstrate “genuine need” should be given the right to vote via the indirect method. The pressing need for this is based on fraud, apparently. Stephenson has even gone so far as to try and […]

  Verdict: Clegg wins Review: Some of you who know me might well say, “You would say that Clegg wins, wouldn’t you?” To which I would respond that I try and be objective in these things. And objectively speaking, the DPM got the better of the spoils today. Nick did seem particularly fired up on […]

  It was a lovely weekend in York. I hadn’t really been there before (and you could argue that, having spent virtually the whole of my time there either in meetings, fringe events or the bar, I still haven’t really been there), so I carried no prejudices. On the downside, I would say that the […]

Verdict: Victory for Cameron, statesmanlike in his approach to the Crimean crisis Review: Yes, the Prime Minister came out on top today – but only because Miliband intentionally let him have this one. The Labour leader chose to ask all of his questions on the situation in Ukraine. While there is something commendable about this […]

Despite my politics not being in the orbit of the Green Party, I was cheered by Caroline Lucas winning the seat of Brighton Pavilion in the 2010 general election. I thought it was a victory for pluralism, having another party represented in the House, and I looked forward to seeing what Lucas’ first move as […]

Verdict: Miliband wins, just, by default Review: Miliband decided to ask all of his questions on this occasion around the topic of climate change, leading with a few about how much the government had spent on flood defences in this parliament. Miliband was clearly trying conflate austerity and the cuts with the recent flood devastation. […]