Prime Minister May takes up where Thatcher left off

IF you closed your eyes, you would have sworn it was Margaret Thatcher at the Commons despatch box.

Maggie May’s first appearance at PMQs was, from Labour’s point of view, frighteningly assured.

The public gallery was packed as the shiny, new premier entered the chamber to a loud Conservative roar.

If anyone thought that Mother Theresa would adopt a softer approach to Jezza, their misapprehension was dismissed early on when the PM sought to embarrass the chief comrade by thanking “those 140 Labour MPs who put the national interest first and voted to renew the nuclear deterrent”.

To add injury to insult for the hairy Leftie, Labour backbencher Jamie Reed rose to thank the PM for her “wholehearted support and endorsement for official Labour Party policy on Trident; it’s such a refreshing change to hear that from the despatch box”.

But as Jezza rose to put Maggie May to the political sword, all he appeared to have in his hand was a feather duster.

Of all the subjects with which Mr C could have opened up Mrs M’s first PMQs, the one he selected was not what was expected. The Labour chief chose to put the PM on the spot over the 1984 Battle of Orgreave between police and picketing miners.

Eyes rolling in Labour heads could be heard metres away.

When Jezza rose to attack the government over job insecurity, the Tory berserkers barracked him as if to say he should know. But Maggie May had a final dig.

“I suspect there are members on the opposition benches, who might be familiar with an unscrupulous boss.

“A boss who doesn’t listen to his workers, a boss who requires some of his workers to double their workload and maybe a boss who exploits the rules to further his own career. Remind him of anybody?”

As the Tories roared for more at the end of PMQs, it might just be possible that the morphed photo of Mrs M wearing Mrs T’s hair will already be rolling off the printing presses at Labour HQ.