As predicted here earlier, Harriet Harman trod a fine line between criticising the government and not overdoing it; and did a surprisingly good job of it. She also had a few lines which were genuinely amusing*.
Perhaps the best was her remark that the Liberal Democrats were still trying to keep the “short money” funding for opposition parties.
“Some say the Liberal Democrats like to be all things to all people but I’m afraid they can’t be both in government and in opposition,” she said. “They are in government, they can’t claim short money. People are familiar with the notion of clinging on to the trappings of power, but the Lib Dems are the first politicians to cling on to the trappings of opposition.”
David Cameron was in confident form, all sweeping rhetoric and a few choice witticisms (eg marvelling at a book by Peter Lilley entitled Common Sense on Cannabis.). He also relished the chance – after months of attacks on the Tories’ new European partners – to point to some of Labour’s more unsavoury bedmates in Brussels.
There are already murmurings, however, that his speech could have been a little more graceful and generous given the political circumstances. The way in which he crushed a stumbling question from a Labour backbencher- concerning the 55 per cent rule – seemed unnecessarily forceful.
* Then again, her adviser is a comedienne.
UPDATE
There were also a few good lines from Peter Lilley and Don Foster, who opened the debate. Foster, Lib Dem MP for Bath, said:
No longer can the definition of futility be listed as “serving on a Lib Dem policy working group”.
Maybe, Mr Foster. For now at least.
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey
