Order prevails as PMQs celebrate half a century

Published on Sunday 17 July 2011 15:49

From Supermac to television show-offs, a venerable but controversial institution has reached 50

PRIME Minister's Question Time, the weekly event which transforms the House of Commons into a blazing cauldron of raw political fury, is 50 years old today.

The ritual Tweedledum-Tweedledee clash between prime minister and the leader of the Opposition invariably generates mud-slinging and general rowdiness from the back- benches.

It is the only time of the week when you can be pretty certain that parliament will take off the gloves and indulge in bare-knuckle verbal brawling.

Some MPs hate it, regarding this 30-minute session as no more than low knockabout comedy which has nothing to do with serious politics. The Speaker, John Bercow, regularly has to call the House to order, usually adding the words: "The public hate it."

But he is wrong. They love it. At a time when the main political parties are accused of being indistinguishable one from another, this is one of the few occasions when the snarling takes over from the smarming and the great gulf separating political opponents is exposed for all to see.

It is true: it is hugely entertaining. Some people have said that they prefer witnessing Prime Minister's Question Time to a visit to the London Palladium.

A report in 1959 recommended that two 15-minute slots, one on a Tuesday and the other on a Thursday, be set aside for questions to the prime minister. A successful pilot experiment took place on 18 July, 1961, and as a result the recommendations were put into practice on 24 October, 1961.

The jousting had begun. The first two combatants were Harold Macmillan and Hugh Gaitskell. In those days the sessions were lively, but not so frenetic and raucous as they are today.

On one occasion, Macmillan was indulging in a long and bibulous lunch with some friends. Suddenly, a panic-stricken Downing Street official burst in on the scene. "Prime minister," he cried, "you are due to answer questions in the House of Commons in an hour's time."

Supermac was unperturbed. "Get Rab Butler to do it," he said, waving his hand airily. "And on your way down, send up another bottle of port."

The nature of Question Time changed radically with the arrival of sound broadcasting to Westminster in the 1970s and television later on. Opponents of television warned that it would give free rein to show-offs to flaunt themselves in front of the cameras. To an extent, this has proved to be the case.

An enormous amount of preparation has to be undergone before each session. Prime ministers generally have no foreknowledge of what they may be asked, so they to have to be briefed in great detail.

In 1997, Tony Blair decided to change the system, to just one 30-minute period on a Wednesday. His aides explained that two sessions involved too much time in preparation.

Foreign statesmen have watched Prime Minister's Question Time in awe.

President George Bush Snr said after sitting through a session: "I count my blessings for the fact that I don't have to go into that pit that John Major stands in, nose-to-nose with the Opposition, all yelling at each other."

But it would be a bad day for parliament if the blood and thunder, the bawling and hollering were eliminated.