Thursday 24 April 2008

Dispatch of the Day - 23rd April 2008

10p or not 10p.....

So, the MPs are back and straight into the thick of it after Brown's climbdown over the 10p taxband. Plenty of political capital to be made here so I foresee a battle of the soundbites. Who will get their quote onto the afternoon news?

Cameron - Today's session should be called Prime Ministers U-turns....massive loss of authority....panic concessions

Brown - Tories are the 'no, don't know, yes party'

Cameron - Pathetic figure...why not be straight with people?

Brown - No quotes just waffle

Cameron - Weakness and dithering by the PM....tax-con budget

Brown - (Tories) no credibility...not a party cares about the poor

Cameron - (Labour) always about politics, not about policy...calculation not conviction...(Brown's) self interest not the national interest...Can the PM's reputation ever recover?

Brown - A million pensioners out of poverty...a million children taken out of poverty...

Cameron - 600,000 more people in extreme poverty...(Brown's) massive loss of authority...Lord Desai said Brown's leadership style was like porridge, Another week and it will be like Cheerios....Loser not a leader

Brown - Why does he never address the central issues....I know what side the country is on

Cameron - weakness....humiliating climbdown...weak and incompetent government...enough is enough...

Brown - We are for opportunity for everyone. They are for opportunism in everything.

And just for good measure Captain Clegg weighs into Brown, despite a barracking from Labour MPs. Well done Cleggy for holding your nerve. Nice quote from him as he relishes sticking the knife into Brown - I thought penalising the poor to reward the rich was the job of the Conservative party, Why is he doing the Tories' job for them?...what is the point of this pointless prime minister?

Brown won't have enjoyed today, he has been humiliated. Nick Robinson gives a good commentary of the ten pence tax rate trip up...now there's a mouthful

Result 1 - 3

Wednesday 2 April 2008

Dispatch of the Day - 2nd April 2008

The Captains are away for the week so we'll count this one as a friendly.

Harman is in for the Reds, Hague for the Blues and a welcome return for Captain Cable!

An easy one on Zimbabwe to start the lady off and an easy one from Hague allows her to get her retaliation in first with a jibe at Theresa May. So, the gloves are off but presumably the stab vest remains. Hague’s repost about wearing a clown suit to cabinet meetings is a good one but if all the 2 stand-ins are going to do is woodenly trade jokes then this is going to be dull.

And so it is.

Blah blah.....baseball cap....blah blah....basic rate of tax...blah blah....remember what it was like under the Tories....zzzzzz...labour is out of touch.....no we're not.

Hague is well off form and Harman is wooden and unable to cope with anything slightly off brief.

Vince Cable's contribution turns the whole thing to farce.

Poor show all round

Result 0 - 0

I'm sure there will be commentators who claim a brilliant victory for Harriet and those who claim she was flat. I don't suppose once the day is out, either side will want to remember this session.