The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, has said prime minister’s questions is becoming an increasingly tedious exchange of party political point-scoring and that his presence at the event would not be “constant” in the New Year.
Speaking on his phone-in radio show on LBC, Clegg said that the weekly session in parliament was becoming a tedious exchange that was more about “people brandishing their own party’s credentials, rather than what it is supposed to be about, which is the opposition scrutinising the coalition government as a whole and the prime minister defending the coalition government as a whole.”
“I think my presence isn’t going to be constant,” he added.
Clegg said: “It’s not surprising because we’re in the runup to a general election, but David Cameron, to be blunt, is not speaking as the prime minister of a coalition government increasingly in prime minister’s questions.
“He’s basically using it as a platform to advertise Conservative party policy and it’s not my job to sit there on my hands politely helping him along.”
The deputy prime minister joked with the show’s host, Nick Ferrari, that he could use the time for productive activities, suggesting he might bring a “little pillow” or headphones in to the chamber, or catch up on emails, sign Christmas cards or even play the game Candy Crush Sage on his phone – a reference to an incident in which a Conservative MP was spotted playing the popular game during a parliamentary committee meeting.
“Do I enjoy sitting there watching David Cameron an Ed Miliband week-in, week-out tearing strips out of each other and I can’t get up and say my piece? It’s not my favourite time of the week,” he said.
