Prime minister slips up during PMQs - to the amusement of the House of Commons

Asked repeatedly if the Prime Minister still had confidence in the Speaker, the Prime Minister s Spokesman (PMS) said that we had consistently made clear that the Prime Minister did not appoint the Speaker. It was right that the Speaker was independent of Government and it was also right that the Prime Minister should support the individual elected to be Speaker by the House of Commons. It would n...

Asked if the Prime Minster retained full confidence in the Speaker, the PMS said that the Speaker was appointed by the Commons, not the Government and that the Prime Minister supported the will of the Commons and therefore he supports the person who has been elected as the Speaker of the Commons. The PMS repeated that the Speaker is not appointed by the Prime Minister, but by the House of Commons ...

Asked if the Prime Minister had confidence in the Speaker of the House of Commons, the PMS said yes. Asked why, the PMS replied that the Prime Minister believed that we should support the Speaker s decision to review the rules so that MPs could continue to do their job, while ensuring that no one was above the law. Asked if the Prime Minister accepted that there was some urgency in getting a revie...

Prime Minister Gordon Brown made himself the butt of merciless mockery in the House of Commons when a slip of the tongue led him to boast "we have saved the world".

Asked if the Leader of the House of Commons would deputise for the Prime Minister at PMQs on Wednesday, the PMS said yes. Asked if the Prime Minister would be having bi-lateral talks with the President of Argentina, the PMS said the Prime Minister would be expected to have a meeting with the President of Argentina later this week. He added that the Daily Express had made a good effort to stir thin...

Michael Deacon watches the House of Commons receive a surprise visit from a rare visitor: the Deputy Prime Minister.

The prime minister has called for a political consensus on moves to rebuild trust in the House of Commons.

Just under half an hour until the prime minister enters the Commons.

Prime Minister’s Question Time (PMQs) is often criticised as a bad advert for Parliament. It is confrontational and glib. – That particularly applies to the portion which is shown mostly on news programmes. Anyone who is concerned about this should watch or read the record of the House of Commons Liaison Committee. Each quarter it