PMQs is a pointless political point-scoring exercise

Prime Minister’s Questions is supposed to be the one occasion each week when the leader of the UK Government is held to account

It has been quite rightly criticised in the past for turning into pure theatre, with jeers and boos reaching such a crescendo it is impossible to get any actual answers from the PM.

Now we’re into the “new politics”. Jeremy Corbyn’s idea of taking some of the heat out of PMQs was laudable and in some ways, exactly what was needed. Less blood sport-like, more analytical.

The shame is that it’s not really working. At all. Instead, we are “treated” to the sight of the leader of the Opposition staring down boorish Tory MPs who seem to have missed the memo that making vaguely animal noises at our opponent is neither smart nor funny.

It’s all rather repetitive and boring, rather like the questions which are being pushed David Cameron’s way just now.

There was a successful outing last week where he ditched the rapid-fire and random approach of publicly submitted questions being put to the Conservative leader in whatever order they apparently landed in his inbox and instead focused on tax credits.

However, it all disappeared in a puff of repetition yesterday. Tax credits again with no new angle, no new way of drawing a response and a seeming lack of ideas. Perhaps we should crowd source the questioner as well as the questions themselves.