by Dan Hodges
Ed Miliband arrived at PMQs with his leadership in crisis, his party in despair and his political fortunes at such a low ebb even his brother had been forced to leap to his defence. Poor David Cameron. He didn’t have a prayer.
It started well enough. He’d read Ed Miliband’s grafter’s speech. Graft? He’d show Ed Miliband and those feckless malingers how to graft. “Welfare costs are out of control”, he told Margot James. And he was going to put things right. There was a bill going through Parliament that very night that was going to take those work shy idlers and get them back down the chimneys were they belonged. Oh yes.
Ed Miliband rose. There was a huge cheer, from both Labour and Tory benches. The Labour benches prevailed. “He’s our leader”, they were saying. “How dare you attack him. That’s our job”.
For one heart-stopping moment, Ed paused. Had he finally cracked? Was this the end? “Screw it. David, you’re on”.
No. He was collecting himself. The prime minister wanted to crack down on welfare cheats. Fair enough. But why was he cracking down on cancer victims? Specifically, wasn’t it the case that 7,000 cancer victims were going to lose £94 a week because of his plans?
Fear flashed across the prime minister’s eyes. Facts and figures. David Cameron isn’t a details man. He leaves that sort of stuff to people he can rely on. Like Andrew Lansley.
Even worse, Ed Miliband had picked up the gauntlet. He was supposed to be going on a safe issue, like why was the BMA now running health policy, or why the first sea lord had admitted government cuts meant he would soon have to scuttle the last remnants of the fleet off Tripoli.
“That is simply not the case”, said David Cameron, and promptly sat down to begin frantically leafing through his folder of interesting charts and figures. The truth was he didn’t have a clue whether what Ed Miliband had said was the case or not; but he hadn’t got where he was today by failing to deny something even though he didn’t have the facts at his disposal.
Ed Miliband came back at him. McMillan cancer support had confirmed the cuts. Weren’t they in a position to know?
The prime minister looked unnerved. He hadn’t bargained on this. Throwing idlers back down the chimneys was all well and good. But if they had cancer? How would that look on the ten o’clock news?
“People who are terminally ill will get full access to support”, he pledged. The problem was, David Cameron now appeared unsure what terminally ill actually meant. So he fell back on an old device. Terminal illness had been inherited from the previous government.
Then something happened. It was as if all the months of sniping and griping and moaning and criticising had finally come to a head. Ed Miliband went for the prime minister.
“Why doesn’t he know about these arguments”, he stormed. “The house of commons is voting on this bill tonight”. Pointing, gesticulating, face contorted in what looked like genuine rage, he continued to tear into his opponent: “He should know about these arguments”.
David Cameron looked stunned; as if he half expected Labour’s newly energised leader to vault the dispatch box and punch him. Then he did something I haven’t seen him do before. He backed off.
The swagger, and the taunts were suddenly gone. And the condescension. He started to look round for reinforcements. Tony Blair was on his side, he said. And David Miliband. And a lot of experts. “Come on then”, he was trying to say, “I’ve got my gang with me”.
But it didn’t work for him. At the moment that mattered, when Ed Miliband had first flown at him, Cameron had blinked. And both men knew it.
Labour’s leader didn’t land a knock out blow. For the rest of the session the prime minister looked confident and assured. But for an instant, David Cameron had felt fear.
After the week Ed Miliband’s had, that was enough.
Dan Hodges is contributing editor of Labour Uncut.
Tags: Dan Hodges, PMQs sketch, sketch
Thought Ed M did a very good job today at PMQs.
That was a nice story. It doesn’t bear much resemblance to what I watched, but it was kinda fun. The term ‘clutching at straws’ seems to apply a little, though, if you don’t mind me saying.
yes but it would have been nice if Cameron and Miliband knew what the hell they were talking about concerning cancer, a heated argument with both sides wrong, but heck who cares, well people with cancer do.
A person with cancer is deemed to be under special rules for disability payments, the only time they would come under the one year rule would be when the GP states they are fit to find work, but this could take two years five years or what ever time the doctor thinks is right, I know people who have been under special rules for ten years.
Once a Doctor says your clear of cancer in remission then you only have a year before your transfered to JSA and lose the £96 a week.
Labour actually wanted to do the same but stated it should be two years.
Miliband should have checked first before sailing up the river in a debate on welfare they caused.
If Labour really cared about the sick and disabled, why didn’t they grasp the nettle and reform Welfare when they had the chance? Simply lambasted Frank Field as a closet Tory. Were they all cowards or just too busy fighting their civil war?
Actually, I find it a lot harder to forgive Labour for kicking welfare into the long grass for the Conservatives to deal with, than I do for the economy going pear-shaped on their watch.
Lesson for the next Labour government: You reckon the Conservatives like to grind the faces of the poor? Then make sure you sort out the hard stuff yourselves when you have the chance.
My apologies if this comment isn’t very polite – I am steaming mad at Labour over this.
@Robert
“yes but it would have been nice if Cameron and Miliband knew what the hell they were talking about concerning cancer, a heated argument with both sides wrong, but heck who cares, well people with cancer do.”
Actually Miliband was correct, Cameron didn’t answer the question Miliband was asking.
“A person with cancer is deemed to be under special rules for disability payments”
The special rules only apply if they’re terminal or currently receiving chemo or radiotherapy.
“the only time they would come under the one year rule would be when the GP states they are fit to find work, but this could take two years five years or what ever time the doctor thinks is right, I know people who have been under special rules for ten years.”
Ermmmmm…I think you’re confusing the old rules with the new ESA rules introduced in 2008.
“Once a Doctor says your clear of cancer in remission then you only have a year before your transfered to JSA and lose the £96 a week.”
This is the actual issue Miliband was probing Cameron about, Cameron repeatedly muddled the water by referring to terminal cancer. But it doesn’t really matter if the DWP stop your ESA after 12 months if you’ve got terminal cancer as you’ll probably be dead within 6 months. If you survive the cancer you will have the physical and/or emotional scars of the disease or the treatment which will take time to get over, if you do at all.
“Labour actually wanted to do the same but stated it should be two years.”
Under the rules brought in by Labour in 2008 their is no time limit on claiming contribution based ESA for those in the WRAG group, the time limit of 1 year is being brought in by the coalition. Liam Byrne said he would extend the limit to 2 years but he’s a Blairite so what do you expect.
“Miliband should have checked first before sailing up the river in a debate on welfare they caused.”
Miliband did check and was correct.