Prime questions

PMQs and a postcode lottery

BORIS JOHNSON used a combination of bluster and belligerence after taking umbrage at Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s tone at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Yet, while Sir Keir has, in recent weeks, left himself open to the charge of opportunism, the fact of the matter is that Mr Johnson does not have a monopoly on ideas.

He should accept criticism with more humility and agree – respectfully – to consider suggestions put forward by his opponents if a second spike in Covid cases is to be thwarted. This was epitomised by the question posed by Batley and Spen MP Tracy Brabin after recent Covid outbreaks at factories in Kirklees.

She wanted to know when the Government will make available daily postcode data on cases to make it easier to target lockdowns on specific areas without putting the wider economy at unnecessary risk.

To his credit, the Prime Minister acknowledged this point, while also singling out Kirklees Council for particular praise, before giving the impression that the Government will see what more can be done.

After all, it would – by way of example – be remiss of Ministers to consider shutting down an entire area like Bradford, where the number of Covid cases remains a cause for concern, when two-thirds of its jurisdiction is rural.

This is just one example. Equally, it would be wrong to impose a blanket lockdown on Kirklees if an outbreak was contained to one factory or one locality. But, by posing the question in a constructive manner, Ms Brabin has shown why PMQs does matter – and why the exchanges should be taken more seriously by the Prime Minister.