With Gordon Brown doing his PM thing by visiting the troops in Iraq ahead of Christmas (of course right and proper, but also fair as he had been to Afghanistan!), it was the turn of Harriet Harman, William Hague and Vince Cable to deputise for their respective bosses.
It was also the last PMQs of 2008 (MPs go on their month long break tomorrow - Recession? What Recession?).
William Hague began with a joke about the news that troops would be returned from Iraq next year saying that since news about the withdrawal had been leaked by the government last week he was surprised that no one had since been arrested! Hague then moved on to the issue of the independent Iraq Inquiry, or more precisely, the lack of one, to which Harman reiterated government policy that there is no delay just that it was right while troops were still serving in Iraq there cannot be one. Hague's point was that the PM has announced today that British troops are to be withdrawn by July next year so no time should be wasted if lessons are to be learned which could be applied in Afghanistan.
The other issue Hague went on was the economy, specifically the lack of credit getting through to small businesses which he linked to the rising unemployment figures announced today. Hague called for the government to adopt the Conservative proposal for a national loan guarantee scheme which has been endorsed by business. The shadow Foreign Secretary also attacked the government's fiscal stimulus saying that the VAT cut had been denounced in Britain and abroad (a reference to the German Finance Minister). Harman said the government was taking action, she said the government was putting an additional £1.3 billion into job centres which she said the Tories were refusing to endorse as they were the party of spending cuts, and she attacked the Conservative's national loan guarantee scheme for not being backed up by public money and described it as "not worth the money it's press released on." The Leader of the House also criticised the Tories for talking down confidence and the economy (to which Hague reminded her of Tessa Jowell's comments the other day talking the economy down saying Britain was facing the worst recession).
The contest heated up slightly towards the end. Hague attacked Labour as the "say anything, spin anything, do nothing government" in a clear attempt to turn Brown's "do nothing" jibe on its head. Hague tried to portray the Conservatives as the party of action with their proposals for a national loan guarantee scheme. Hague also labelled the governments 'new' £150 million announcement on helping unemployment as "a reannouncement of a reannouncement" saying that "at Christmas time we're not supposed to just get repeats which we are getting." Hague also asked Harman "how many more people must lose their jobs before the Prime Minister justifiably loses his?"
Harman decided it would be a good idea to recycle a joke she had used just last Thursday in Business Questions in her capacity as Leader of the House saying she'd "rather have Superman as our leader than the Joker when it comes to party leadership." She was rightly mocked for re-using the joke which wasn't that great the first time round! Harman also decided to draw the House's attention to a website of William Hague (http://www.williamhague.org.uk/) which still describes Hague as the Leader of the Conservative Party but is clearly defunct as it is a single page website consisting of his name, position and the old Tory 'torch' logo. Hague looked perplexed. Harman obviously thought this amusing and now not only the House but also the country as a whole has been enlightened about this vital issue of national importance.
As for Vince Cable he went on the issue of the financial crisis in housing associations. He told Harman that housing was at its lowest level since former Labour PM Ramsey MacDonald - which was met by jeers from the Labour benches asking whether he remembered it. Poor Cable was being subjected to the "Sir Menzies Campbell" treatment about his age. He recovered pretty well, smiling at his detractors, and told Labour that they ought to remember as it was in danger of repeating that history! Harman got up and said she was very concerned about housing and mortgages but Cable retorted that she had just given a very "complacent" answer. He said the government should be helping housing associations as much as it was helping out the banks.
VERDICT
A fairly dull display from the deputies today. It was a pretty low key affair and most of the jokes fell flat and one was even a repeat (tut tut Harman). Bring on 2009!
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