PMQs: How did Mhairi Black, Oliver Dowden and Angela Rayner perform as mortgages and poverty raised at deputy Prime Minister's Questions

Oliver Dowden resorted to comedy and deflection as he faced questions about the Tories record on child poverty.

With Rishi Sunak at NATO and missing a second PMQs in a row, the Deputy Prime Minister stood in for while Labour’s Angela Rayner deputised for Sir Keir Starmer.

Ms Rayner compared the UK’s current mortgage woes with those faced by the Conservative government in the 1990s, suggesting it was a legacy of failure.

Mhairi Black, the SNP deputy leader, also asked about mortgages, demanding to know how high they would go before the UK Government would “take them seriously”.

Speaking to MPs after, one Tory compared Oliver Dowden to a substitute teacher, while a Labour MP labelled it the “worst session of the year”.

Oliver Dowden

Mr Dowden defended Mr Sunak not being present for yet another PMQs, and used statistics questioned by Labour to defend the Government’s record.

Asked about child poverty, he didn’t engage with specifics, instead discussing the introduction of the living wage and its increases.

SNP's Mhairi Black during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons.

He added: “That is the surest way to ensure we lift people out of poverty and would never have happened with the party opposite.”

After Ms Rayner pointed to research suggesting 400,000 more primary school age children are growing up in poverty, Mr Dowden replied: “I will take absolutely no lectures whatsoever from the party opposite about how we help children in the most need.”

Then in a weak attempt at humour, he added “Her leader (Sir Keir Starmer) says he hates tree-huggers. They seem very keen on hugging that magic money tree.”

Angela Rayner

The deputy Labour leader used comments from a debate in 1996 to suggest the Tory party still had the same failures, but now with worse MPs.

To cheers, she said: “I am very proud to be filling the boots of Lord John Prescott, but I think it is safe to say he is no Heseltine, Mr Speaker.

“Why is it, John Prescott asked, that in Tory Britain, tens of thousands of families are facing repossession, negative equity and homelessness? Can he tell us, 27 years later, why I am having to ask the same question?”.

Ms Rayner also raised rising bills and mortgages, but failed to land a “gotcha” moment of Mr Dowden.

Mhairi Black

Ms Black challenged the Deputy Prime Minister over the Government’s response to soaring mortgage rates as she urged him to take the issue “seriously”.

She told the Commons: “Last month, the Deputy Prime Minister dismissed warnings from these benches that mortgage rates were nearly back to where they were after the disastrous mini-budget.

“This week, mortgage rates have surpassed those levels. How high do they need to go until he and his Government take it seriously?”

As Mr Dowden blamed the financial woes on the war in Ukraine and Covid, pushed for immediate action.

She added: “Does the Deputy Prime Minister understand that people can’t afford to wait until Christmas and that they need help right now?”.

Mr Dowden replied that’s why the Government had promised to halve inflation, a target it is currently not near.