Nasal exploits may prove the final straw in downtown Crewe

UNABLE to get to the Commons in time to witness Prime Minister's Questions live, I listened with half an ear to the BBC2 broadcast and indulged myself in the fun of watching the on-line comments instantaeously posted on Guido Fawkes' web site. His political blog http://www.order-order.com/ is one of the most amusing on the Internet, and contains sharp, cruel and highly irreverend comments from his on-line community..

A tremendous number of right of centre bloggers seem fascinated with Gordon Brown's nose picking exploits as Alastair Darling delivered the Budget. It seems that 233,649 people so far have logged on to Guido Fawkes' YouTube page to see for themselves the video grab "Prime Minister Gordon Brown Picks His Nose."

The PM's nasal exploits have given bloggers a new batch of quite tasteless (!) nick names for our Bottler, but the descriptions are amusing even if I don't think it advisable to reproduce them. In any event, they are less demeaning than "Cyclops."

As to PMQ's at noon, David Cameron asked whether the £2.7bn tax package, announced followng the row over the abolition of the 10p tax rate, would continue next year.

Bottler says he wants to continue to help people affected by the abolition of the 10p rate, but accuses Cameron of refusing to come out in support of the 10p tax deal and claims the Tories would prioritise inheritance tax and stamp duty.

Cameron was back on his usual tactic of accusing the Prime Minister of never answering clearly questions posed to him. He said Bottler had done it again, from which people should conclude the £2.7bn tax package is a "one off" and a "tax con". He says the Institute of Fiscal Studies suggests 18m families would be worst off next year.

Bottler claimed Labour wanted to help lower and middle income families while the Conservatives want to help "other people".  Then the elephant in the room surfaced - tomorrow's by-election in Crewe & Nantwich.  Cameron asked why Bottler did not have the courage to go to Cheshire, but the Prime Minister ducked it, claiming.it was traditional serving Prime Ministers did not go to constituencies before by-elections.

Cameron hit back, quoting Tony Blair, on his way to a by-election when he was Prime Minister, who had said he had "never understood" that convention. He had believed in "leading from the front." 

Was that the faintest hint of a smile on Bottler's face at this wittisism?

Mark yet another PMQ's triumph for David Cameron, even though Guido Fawkes' on-line adherents think that Cameron let Bottler off lightly. You can't win them all, Dave.

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