Let’s try a thought experiment. Most of us know what prime minister’s questions is like. A weekly piece of political theatre that signifies little in the grand scheme of things. Elections are not decided on who does best at PMQs. And by now we understand the format. No one expects Rishi Sunak to give straightforward answers to Keir Starmer. Just to operate a holding operation and try to limit the damage. Getting out in more or less one piece is all RishGPT can aspire to these days. He has nothing left to say for himself. Even he knows he’s out of ideas. You can see it in his body language.
But MPs are a different breed. More willing to suspend disbelief. For some of them, PMQs still has meaning. It shapes their mood for the rest of the week. A strong performance from their party leader can energise the entire parliamentary party. A poor one … Never underestimate the capacity for denial. To rewrite failure as at least a partial success. Or just to look on the bright side. To take the positives. Which is what the Conservative backbenchers have perfected over the past year as Rish! fails. Fails again. Fails better.
