WESTMINSTER (Labour Buzz) - The weekly PMQs session has become increasingly fractious over the past weeks, as Johnson struggles to defend, or even explain, the policies of his own Government. This week, the past came back to haunt him as he was quizzed over missing apps, the shortcomings of track and trace and his own misleading statements.
Test and trace
Starmer opened his questioning by focusing on the Government’s test and trace system. If the Government is to reopen the country, we need an ‘effective track, trace and isolate system’. Despite a promise that we’d have a ‘world beating’ system in place by the 1st of June the reality is very different. Only 10,000 of the 33,000 people estimated to have coronavirus have been reached. He praised the work done so far but said that this is a ‘big problem’.
Johnson’s reply was to claim he had been “stunned by the success of the test and trace operation.” It had, he said ‘got up and running much faster than the doubters expected.’
Unfortunately, as Starmer was quick to point out, he hadn’t answered the question, so Starmer tried rephrasing: What was he going to do about the gap between the number of people thought to have the virus and the number of people who had been traced. “If two thirds of those with Covid19 are not being reached,” said Starmer, “that’s a big problem”.
Johnson’s response was to accuse Starmer of misrepresenting the figures, something which earned a quick rebuke from the Speaker, as he again claimed that the test and trace system had captured the vast majority of people with Covid 19.
Dodgy answers
Johnson’s failure to answer the question properly or deal with the challenge has become a common theme of these sessions, and it was one which Starmer pressed several times. He commented on Johnson’s apparent inability to deal with challenge or criticism.
“65,000 people have lost their lives because of Covid-19," he said. “The PM should welcome a challenge that could save lives rather than complaining about it.”
Instead, as Starmer said referencing last week’s claim about child poverty, his response was to resort to bluster or ‘dodgy statements’.
"He's been found out,” said Starmer. “He either dodges the question or gives dodgy answers. Mr Speaker, no more witnesses. I rest my case. Will the PM do the decent thing and correct the record on child poverty?"
Missing Apps
The other big issue of the session was the much-vaunted app. Matt Hancock had promised it by May, but it has somewhat gone missing in action. Unless someone can identify every contact, he said, the app is the only way of tracing unknown contacts.
It had been described as critical by the Health Secretary until this week, when it became clear it would not be delivered at which point it became simply the ‘cherry on the cake’. He challenged the Prime Minister to clarify which version was true. Was this essential, as he claimed, or simply something which would be nice to have?
Johnson repeated the claim that this had only ever been something which would be the ‘icing on the cake’ if it could be delivered. He then bizarrely challenged Starmer to name a country which had a functioning app, something he must have known would produce the answer ‘Germany’ which has managed 12 million downloads so far. The UK, by contrast said Starmer, has spent £12 million trying to produce an app and had come up with nothing.
Local councils
Starmer also pressed the Prime Minister on support for local councils. They will be at the forefront of dealing with outbreaks as and when they happen and, if these problems and outbreaks aren’t addressed, the chances are we’ll see a greater chance of a second outbreak. However, many councils, he said, felt they were not being supported.
Johnson talked about ‘cluster busting’ teams who are ready to step in, but in general he didn’t have anything convincing to say so decided to challenge Starmer on whether he supported children returning to school. Starmer’s response was again simple: yes, when it is safe to do so.
Another desperate performance
It was another dire performance from Johnson. He paints a somewhat hapless image of someone frightened of scrutiny. His strategy has been to turn the fight against Covid 19 into a war. Drawing on all the WW2 analogies he can he wants to paint this as an operation in which everyone is on the same side and pulling in the same direction.
Disagreement, in this environment, is tantamount to treason. In this wartime environment, there is no space for criticism. Indeed, any complaints simply obstruct the pursuit of the wider goal.
It’s a rather desperate approach and one which falls apart as soon as you mention Churchill and Chamberlain. And there are signs that it’s not working with anyone aside from the loyalist of loyal MPs. During the clash, the Conservative supporting phone in host, Iain Dale of LBC, Tweeted:
“Boris Johnson is getting the tone all wrong in PMQs today. Keir Starmer is going out of his way to be supportive and is asking perfectly reasonable questions. Party political grandstanding is not what the general public wants at the moment. Nor is bluster.”
Johnson’s strategy is of someone in full flight. He can’t respond to honest questions and he can’t cover up the growing list of mistakes and broken promises his Government has made. His only response is bluster, grand standing and lies.
Starmer’s tone, in contrast, is polite, considerate and concise. It’s of someone who desperately wants to be supportive and wants the Prime Minister to succeed. Unfortunately, such is the dire state of this Government, that it’s becoming impossible.
(Written by Tom Cropper, edited by Michael O’Sullivan)