PMQs verdict: even exchange but May really shouldn't make jokes

Key points

Today’s exchange was entirely around mental health policy and Jeremy Corbyn’s accusation that the government had last week “sneaked out” proposals to cut (again) the personal independence payment (PIP), a disability benefit, despite a court ruling that they must be preserved. May insisted that this was not a policy change and that no one would see a reduction in their benefits, and that the Conservatives were in fact restoring the system to what was agreed by the last government and by parliament. She added that rather than being sneaked out, the change was confirmed in a written ministerial statement to parliament.

Corbyn said the Tories were returning to the days of the “nasty party”, a term first coined by May herself in 2002 – he cited the comments of George Freeman, the Tory MP and director of May’s policy unit, who last week said the PIP was not intended for “people who take pills at home and suffer from anxiety”. Corbyn repeatedly called on May to reverse the changes.

PMQs ended with a jibe from May at Labour’s humiliating defeat in the Copeland byelection last week. She quoted the neighbouring MP Cat Smith, who had unwisely hailed the result as an ”incredible achievement” for Labour, saying ”incredible” was also a good way to describe Corbyn’s leadership, dropping her voice quite oddly as she did so in a style reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher.

Snap verdict

May was doing fine until her final word, until her half-hearted, low-voice Thatcher parody confirmed that she should probably leave the jokes and funny voices to others. Up until then it was an evenly matched contest, and one that, unusually, shed some light on the issue being discussed. Corbyn focused all his questions on the government’s plans to limit the eligibility toPIP, in the light of court rulings that would make it easier for people with mental health problems to claim. He was precise and restrained, and he made a moving appeal for the court rulings to be honoured, but without resorting to hyperbole. His best point was when he said there was no point having courts to adjudicate on these matters if their findings were ignored. May made her usual points about the need for a strong economy, but she was better setting out the detail, saying that current PIP claimants would not lose out and that the government’s legislation would just restore the status quo ante, and she mocked Labour quite effectively by quoting the spokesman who said the party did not know how it would fund implementing the PIP court decisions. So perhaps Corbyn had the edge, but broadly it was a score-draw.

Memorable lines

Corbyn scores with statistics