Back of the net, Jez

PM walloped in Parliament over austerity Low Marx for holiday book pick MAY FUN? YOU MUST BE JOKING

I’M not sure anything shows the gap between the Westminster and the wider country than Prime Minister’s Questions.

In Parliament we imagine the whole nation grinds to a halt to watch the weekly grilling of the PM.

People eagerly gather round radios, workers are called in from the fields, kids stop playing.

But, as was pointed out to me this week, if at 12pm on a Wednesday you really want to watch a competition between the red team and the blue team then BBC One’s Bargain Hunt is on.

In some ways it’s a shame, though, because this week Jeremy Corbyn did what he’s been threatening to do for a long time.

Ducks

He completely took Theresa May apart. It has been a long road to get to this point for the Labour leader but worth the wait.

Manchester United’s Paddy Crerand once said about George Best that the star’s footwork left opponents with “twisted blood”.

And that was the case this week. Mrs May was gutted, demolished, ruined, schooled – take your pick.

This came about because Mr Corbyn attacked with questions on austerity.

And she has no answers. None. Zero.

So she evades and ducks and dives. To get an answer about austerity you need to talk to the police, firemen, teachers, NHS, armed forces, councils DESPITE all her problems, one of the few things Theresa May’s has going for her is she is seen as a strong leader.

Focus groups come back saying the same thing – people see her as a solid figure to be trusted on security and guide the country through Brexit, etc, etc. But instead and ask how it’s going for them? Ask the people who are working but are still on their way to food banks how the end of austerity is coming along. I’ll save you a bit of time – it’s not going well. Mr Corbyn said: “Poverty is up. Homelessness and deaths on our streets are up. Living standards down, public services slashed and a million elderly are not getting the care they need. “Wages have been eroded and all the while billions were found for tax giveaways for big of sticking to her strong points, No10 insiders plan to highlight her humour.

Apparently, below the layers of awkwardness she has a really, really funny dry sense of humour.

I know, me neither, but that’s what they say. Here’s the problem – the dancing was the first step in corporations and the super-rich.” Hard to argue with that. Still, Mrs May insists it will soon be over. Rejoice!

Feel free to start planning what you do with your inflation-busting pay rise – backdated to the start of all this belttightening. Vegas maybe?

Disabled people – wait for the call telling you your Personal Independence Payments are being reinstated.

Bring on that fine spring day when all the libraries, playing fields, post offices, bus services, swimming pools, youth clubs, will reappear.

Not long now. As soon as I hear the that direction and wasn’t funny. At a dinner last year she described Philip Hammond as “like a drier, less frivolous version of Linkedin”, and David Davis as Mad Max. How we all laughed. But fair play to her. She won’t win an election so might as well try out for Britain’s Got Talent. date I’ll let you know. Austerity. The name itself is too snappy for this horror show, which has inflicted misery upon misery and, at its most extreme, has killed people.

Call it what it is – A brutal campaign of cutting public services and targeting the most vulnerable.

Not a catchy name, but accurate. And when we emerge from it, all we’ll see is the rich have somehow made it out even richer.

“The end is in sight,” said the Prime Minister last week. Yes, Theresa. Yes it is. We can’t wait.