Wednesday 24 February 2010

Kerry's Guide to PMQs

Here's today's running order. Expect Cameron to get in a 'forces of hell' gag which will be met with not-at-all faked hilarity from the Tory backbenchers and over-exuberant thigh-slapping from Sven. Stephen Pound, if we get to him, will by contrast be genuinely funny. Clegg might well go on the NOTW phone-tapping stuff. Dari Taylor will, I expect, go on Corus as it's a big local issue. Richard Benyon is the great-great grandson of former Conservative Prime Minister Lord Salisbury and lives in the ancestral home. This probably has no bearing at all on the question he is going to ask today, but just thought you might be interested!

Q1 Jamie Reed (Copeland):
Cameron
Random Labour backbencher
Clegg
Q2 David Heathcoat-Amory (Wells):
Random Labour backbencher
Q3 David Amess (Southend West):
Random Labour backbencher

Q4 Stewart Jackson (Peterborough):
Q5 Dari Taylor (Stockton South):
Random Opposition backbencher
Q6 Derek Wyatt (Sittingbourne & Sheppey):
Q7 Richard Benyon (Newbury):
Q8 Neil Gerrard (Walthamstow):
Q9 Michael Ancram (Devizes):
Q10 Stephen Pound (Ealing North):
Random Opposition backbencher
Q11 David Anderson (Blaydon):
Q12 John Whittingdale (Maldon & East Chelmsford):

Random Labour backbencher
Q13 James Brokenshire (Hornchurch):
Q14 Liz Blackman (Erewash):
Q15 Angela Watkinson (Upminster):

4 comments:

Chris said...

"not-at-all faked hilarity from the Tory backbenchers"... because it's oh so different across the chamber.

Perhaps, you just all need to get a handle on reality.

TheBoilingFrog said...

A quick (probably silly) question, aside from the front benches obviously, is there any kind 'rule', formal or informal where MPs sit on the benches or is it literally a first come first serve basis.

For instance do you favour the same place or now that you're a whip you've had to 'move'?

Kerry said...

There aren't really rules. Gordon's two PPS's sit behind him so they can pass notes if needed. Otherwise it's just a case of people trying to get themselves into camera shot, or heading for their usual seats - Steve Pound, for example, always sits in the back row along with the other bad boys! Dennis Skinner always sits on the front bench, across the gangway from the Cabinet... and that seems to have become Tom Harris' favoured place too (perhaps he needs the leg room?) I'll go on the front bench if there's not many senior Ministers around, but otherwise just find a seat anywhere. Before I became a whip I tended to go one or two rows back, quite near the Speaker's Chair because I'm not very tall and not very loud, so being near the Ministers and near the Speaker was a good move.

TheBoilingFrog said...

Thanks for your response Kerry, as it happens I saw you today sat behind Jamie Reed, during his first question.