الأربعاء، 16 سبتمبر 2015

Corbyn Tackles PM With Crowdsourced Questions


Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has used his first Prime Minister's Questions to tackle David Cameron with some of the 40,000 questions sent to him by members of the public.
Mr Corbyn was greeted with cheers as he rose to his feet at the despatch box, where he pressed the PM over housing, welfare cuts and mental health services.
He also called for a new approach at the weekly session, which is traditionally known for its rowdy atmosphere, and told the PM many voters had told him PMQs and Westminster as a whole was "out of touch and too theatrical".
Sky's Deputy Political Editor Joey Jones said Mr Corbyn's approach proved effective, allowing him to set a measured low-key tone.
The veteran left-wingers performance will be welcomed by the Corbyn camp, following a rocky start to his leadership.
After struggling to put together a frontbench team and facing criticism over the top jobs all going to men, disagreements have already emerged with members of his own shadow cabinet.
Of the many responses he received from the public for PMQs, Mr Corbyn had just six to put to Mr Cameron, which included questions from Marie on housing, Steven on rents, Paul on tax credits, Claire on benefits, and Gail and Angela on mental health.
Responding, Mr Cameron said he welcomed Mr Corbyn's approach and said he would be "delighted" if the session could become a "genuine exercise in asking questions and answering questions".
Congratulating Mr Corbyn on his election as party leader Mr Cameron said: "I know we will have many strong disagreements, I'm sure, between us at these exchanges but where we can work together in the national interest we should do so and I wish him well in his job."

However, in answering the opposition leader's questions, the PM repeatedly stressed the need for a strong economy to provide public services.
And when Mr Cameron was jeered from the opposition benches over welfare cuts, he said: "I thought this was the new question time".
When pressed by Mr Corbyn over concerns around mental health services, Mr Cameron admitted more needed to be done in this area, but argued improvements had been made.
Mr Cameron warned: "We will not have a strong NHS unless we have a strong economy, and if the Labour Party is going to go down the route of unlimited spending, unlimited borrowing, unlimited tax rates, printing money, they will wreck the economic security of our country and the family security of every family in our country."
Responding to a question from a Tory MP, the PM also appeared to take a sideswipe at Mr Corbyn's remark during the leadership campaign that he could not think of a good case for sending British troops abroad.
Highlighting the role played by UK service personnel in tackling the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Mr Cameron said: "For those who wonder sometimes what are the uses of British troops, I would say get a map out and have a look at Sierra Leone."
In a question on Northern Ireland, DUP MP Nigel Dodds referred to controversial comments previously made by Mr Corbyn's shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, in which he called for IRA terrorists to be "honoured".

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