Kemi Badenoch is not much good at Prime Minister’s Questions. To which you might retort: so what? Everyone knows the weekly bout of mouth-to-mouth combat between prime minister and leader of the opposition is a theatrical ritual. The typical voter deplores it as a load of yah-boo, signifying nothing. Only a small minority of the public tune in on a consistent basis.
Mrs Badenoch’s problem is that PMQs is taken seriously by two audiences that should be important to the Tory leader. One is made up of Westminster reporters and commentators. Their verdict about who has “won” PMQs influences the overall judgment about whether a leader has forward momentum or is going nowhere. The other critical audience is made up of MPs. They crowd into the chamber for a ringside seat at the prize fight. A robust performance by a leader energises them, while a flop disheartens. More often than not, the Tory leader sends her side away feeling deflated. They were led to expect better from someone who was marketed on the basis that she had a zesty and combative personality. “She was hired because it was thought she would kick ass,” remarks a Conservative veteran. During the Tory leadership contest last autumn, one of the claims made for her by supporters was that she’d rattle Sir Keir Starmer. He leaves his encounters with the Tory leader looking distinctly unrattled.
