It was at the end of David Cameron and Ed Miliband’s exchanges at today’s PMQs that the key moment came as both sought to spin last week’s Syria vote in their favour. Miliband declared that the vote “was not about Britain shirking its global responsibilities, it was about preventing a rush to war”, casting himself as a responsible figure who, while refusing to rule out military action, acted as a brake on a reckless Prime Minister (he tweeted the line immediately afterwards). But Cameron, who struggled to bring himself to even look at Miliband, replied: “I don’t think it was necessary to divide the House on a vote that could have led to a vote but he took the decision that it was”, framing Miliband as an irresponsible figure who put party interests before the national interest.
Until that point, in view of the grave nature of the subject, both leaders sought to strike a respecful and consensual tone, but the role of Iran emerged as the major dividing line. Miliband suggested that the government should seek Iranian participation in the Syrian contact group or as part of the Geneva peace process but an obviously sceptical Cameron replied: “let’s not forget what Iran has done to our embassy and our country”. A similar question was subsequently asked by Jack Straw (and several other Labour backbenchers), suggesting that the party views this as an important diplomatic proposal. But Miliband and Douglas Alexander should remember that while President Rouhani is a far more moderate and flexible figure than Ahmadinejad, ultimate power continues to lie with the Ayatollahs.
Compared to the pre-recess PMQs, the session was largely free of fireworks, but Cameron unwisely responded to a reasonable question from Margaret Beckett on why so many organisations (including, she noted, ConservativeHome) oppose the government’s lobbying bill with another crude attack on the trade unions.
Another notable moment came when Labour MP Jim Hood smartly asked Cameron how he could oppose a mansion tax on the grounds that many who would be hit are “capital rich and cash poor”, while supporting the bedroom tax, which hurts many for the same reason. Fixing his glare at the Labour frontbench, Cameron replied: “You’ve ranted and raved about the spare room subsidy – are you going to reverse it? No? Absolutely nothing to say.” The hope among Labour MPs is that Miliband will use his conference speech to confirm that Labour would repeal the policy, a pledge that, as I recently reported, the party will make at some point before 2015.
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