Blair on form at PMQ, but LibDems making the good points

Several interesting things happened at PMQ this week. David Cameron used all of his six supplementary questions in one concerted attack on John Reid's Home Office. The Labour backbench took great delight in mocking the new hoodie-friendly policy of the opposition. Blair shined and Cameron struggled, despite some good one-liners. And the LibDems asked all the good questions.
The PM began by telling India that we stand with them against terrorism - and to that end he also paid tribute to yet another British soldier killed in Afghanistan.
The mood was very much end-of-term, and the 'hilarity' started early. Labour MP Doug Naysmith wanted to know if "hugging a hoodie" would help reduce crime. The backbench dissolved into giggles as Tony Blair attempted a little levity of his own:

"I have to say that I have never felt like hugging a hoodie, other than, possibly, my hon. Friend the Member for Lanark and Hamilton —and even that sparingly."

The MP for Lanark is, of course, Jimmy Hood. Geddit? He went on to scorn the opposition attitude to ASBOs.
Cameron's response was smart - but then he has lots of good lines - he just fails to make the best of them:

"If the Prime Minister wants to turn this into a session in which I answer the questions and he asks them, he can always call a general election."

Then he was off - why were voluntary police force mergers being blocked? Not sensible at this time, replied Blair. Three weeks ago the PM was all for mergers - even forced ones. What has changed?

Blair said that he had listened to representations AND they are still on the agenda AND voluntary mergers were to be encouraged.

Cameron seems to have hired some comedy writers in the last few weeks:
"Has not the Prime Minister been wasting police time?" He moved on to ID cards. The project was in trouble, and senior civil servants are saying it might not be up and running before 2026 - even Mr Blair will be gone by then.

The Tory leader saved his last two questions for what he thought would be the issue of the day:

"This week we have seen police mergers abandoned, ID cards delayed, tax credits completely defrauded and, after all that, we have discovered that we have a Deputy Prime Minister who thinks he is a cowboy! Apparently, he is "really looking forward" to standing in for the Prime Minister over the summer. Please tell us that that is not going to happen."

An interesting thing happened. Blair did not rush to the defence of his deputy. He waffled on about all the policies the government was pursuing - automatic mode as Gwynneth Dunwoody called it. The closest he got to answering the question was: "I can tell the right hon. Gentleman that the arrangements are exactly the same as they have been in previous years."

Hardly a ringing endorsement. Perhaps even the Prime Minister is unsure if Prescott will make it to August.

The other interesting thing is that, in a complete reversal of last week, the Speaker did not intervene at the mention of Mr Prescott's ranch holiday. Later on, the MP for Blaby, Andrew, Robothan, who had been prevented from asking his question last week, got to ask it again - in full:
"In 1997, the Prime Minister wrote of the ministerial code:
"In issuing this Code, I should like to reaffirm my strong personal commitment to restoring the bond of trust between the British people and their Government...I will expect all Ministers to work within the letter and spirit of the Code."
"Last week, he told the Liaison Committee:
"If there is reason to believe someone has broken the Code, I will take action".
Well, there is the valuable transport union flat that the Deputy Prime Minister occupied as Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, there is the behaviour with a junior female office subordinate, which would have led to the sacking of a civil servant, and now there is Philip Anschutz's hospitality. When will the Prime Minister live up to his fine words and call in Sir John Bourn to investigate these allegations of breaches of the ministerial code?"

Blair tried to paint it all as support for regeneration - the Speaker was on his feet twice in ten seconds - clearly no-one liked that answer, no matter how many new homes the PM promised.

After Cameron, Ming rose majestically. Looking very dapper and very confident, he pointed out that Baroness Scotland said in December 2003 that the UK has higher standards for extradition than those in the US. Last week the PM said they were analagous. Who is right?

For the first time in the session, Blair tried to answer. He gave a classic left-right. The TEST applied by the US is analagous, and anyway these people would have been extradited under the old arrangements.
Oh. But the Attorney General has spoken to the US Justice Department about bail. Seems the LibDem leader's constant questioning over this matter had caused some Whitehall movement.

Ming's response?:

"That does not appear to deal with the contradiction between what the Prime Minister said last week and what Baroness Scotland said to the House of Lords. Will not the Prime Minister accept that the Government have negotiated an unfair treaty, against the interests of the British people, which was needlessly rushed through the House of Commons in Committee proceedings that lasted only 90 minutes, and that it is absurd to continue to act under it when the United States declines to ratify it? In view of the anxiety in the business community and both Houses of Parliament, will the Prime Minister now renegotiate the treaty?"

Slap! It is clear that all that stuff about Ming having gravitas really is true - and could be a vote winner. When he is on a point as strong as this, he makes the Prime Minister look like a little boy who can't stop telling lies.

There were some hostile Labour questions about nuclear issues. Jeremy Corbyn wanted to know how re-arming Trident would fit with the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty, which the UK signed. Blair said we had got rid of lots of missiles since then - so there.

Julian Lewis wanted to know IF we did renew Trident, would the money come out of the defence budget. This was a silly question, guaranteed not to get an answer. See Ming for how to ask a real question.

Former socialist comrade Frank Cook wanted to know what happened to the Tony Blair he knew, the one who campaigned with him against nuclear waste in the 1980s. I live in the real world now, was the PM's response.

There was in interesting twist on the West Lothian issue. Tory Geoffrey Cox was annoyed that those bloody Scots make decisions in Holyrood about purchasing ships for Scottish waters from shipyards in his constituency, then cancelling them. Why are his constituents second-class citizens? Mr Speaker told him to shut up, thankfully.

Finally, Adam Afriyie, who the Speaker thinks is called Adam A-Free, made a bit of an idiot of himself by making a joke no-one laughed at and then trying to goad a veteran like the PM:

"May I compliment you, Mr. Speaker, on your visual acuity in spotting me between the two tallest Members of Parliament? It strikes me that if the head of a school, a charity, a public body or a council were to announce their retirement but refuse to set a date, they would be rightly considered both arrogant and self-centred. Why should we consider the Prime Minister any differently?"

What else could he say in response except: "Because there was an election last year that we won and he lost."