Just answer the question!

Prime Minister's Questions is an institution in British politics whereby any MP in the House has the chance to hold the Prime Minister accountable for his and his party's actions for thirty minutes a week.  These days, however, does it really serve a purpose?


The principle appears simple: questions to the Prime Minister are followed by answers from the Prime Minister.  However, at PMQs yesterday Gordon Brown answered just two of fifteen questions (discounting "planted" questions from Labour MPs along the lines of "don't you think we're great?", and "would you like to list some statistics and attack the Conservatives?").

Rather than provide answers to questions deemed important enough to be asked in the House, the Prime Minister decided to ignore the questions asked and give his own self-serving answers.  In the style of the classic game-show "Jeopardy", I'll give you a couple of his answers here for you to guess what questions they related to (answers at the bottom):

1)  Lord Ashcroft
2)  Defence spending was cut by 30% under the last Conservative government
3)  Why don't you tell us what happened with Lord Ashcroft?
4)  The Tories were wrong on everything, including Lord Ashcroft

What is more worrying is the increasing use of PMQs by Gordon Brown and the Labour party to make cheap digs at the opposition rather than allowing their own actions and record to be scrutinised.  Of the fifteen questions asked yesterday, seven were asked by Labour MPs.  If you take away the six questions that David Cameron is legally entitled to ask, that leaves just two by other Conservative MPs.  Rather a bias, don't you think?  A bias which falls squarely on the shoulders of The Speaker; more on that tomorrow.

Ideally, I believe that questions during PMQs should be taken solely from the opposition MPs.  MPs of the Prime Minister's party should know his policies, and have his ear at all times.  It is far more difficult, or even impossible, for opposition Members to question the PM outside this 30-minute session.  It might even result in more questions that actually force the Prime Minister to break a sweat.

Before you turn round and say "well Politicians don't answer questions, it's their job"; I watched a video of a PMQs under Margaret Thatcher's premiership.  Out of thirteen questions asked she only dodged answering one, which wasn't about Government matters in the first place.  So it goes to show that it is possible.  So why won't Mr. Brown answer the questions put to him?


And now the answers:
1)  Will the Prime Minister guarantee that the outgoing Labour MPs caught up in the "Lobbygate" scandal will not receive Peerages in the dissolution honours?
2)  When did the Prime Minister realise that he had misled the Chilcott Enquiry?  Before, or after he had given evidence?
3)  If the Prime Minister is so happy with the publishing of reports on Government activity, why is he blocking the publishing of documents relating to Labour's disastrous handling of the pensions crisis?
4)  Your Ministers are unfit to govern, when are you going to call the General Election?


Please let me know if you got any right!