Boris Johnson might well wonder why people are so upset about having to sell their home to pay for social care. After all, he had to sell his to pay for his divorce.
Keir Starmer spent most of PMQs today reminding the Prime Minister of promises he’s made, despite all evidence showing he thinks vows are made to be broken.
“£350m a week”, “I won’t raise national insurance”, “there’s no need to worry about the Taliban”, "this animal definitely has TB", “I will protect the triple lock”, “I do”.
The only thing in politics longer than the PM’s list of abandoned pledges is the waiting time on the Afghanistan helpline.
Yet for some reason when he says things like “we’re going to reduce the NHS backlog” and “ I have full confidence in Gavin Williamson ”, people take him at his word.
And now the PM's iron-clad assurance that nobody would have to sell their home when they die in order to pay their care bill has melted.
Those hoping for early signs of a mutiny among awkward Tories over Mr Johnson’s latest pips-squeezing wheeze would have come away from PMQs disappointed.
While the expressions on their newly mask-free faces betrayed their discomfort at plans to turn the Tories into the party of high taxes and public spending, they refrained from moaning about it to the PM’s face.
In fact, Sir Lindsay Hoyle repeatedly interrupted proceedings to ask Tory backbenchers to turn the volume down.
The Speaker has embarked on something of a mission to civilise the Commons in advance of its return this week - reminding MPs that the chamber operates a 'no shirt, no shoes, no speech' policy.
But with the return of Westminster’s pubs and drinks receptions - including one held by the Speaker himself last night, it’s possible Sir Lindsay’s appeals for quiet might have been out of sympathy for sore heads.
Sir Lindsay, like his predecessor John Bercow, made the argument that the public don’t like turning on the telly to see grown men and women braying like condemned alpacas - which is probably true.
But while it’s increasingly unfair to make him responsible for policing it, what the public dislike even more is politicians making promises they have no intention of keeping. At the end of the day, everything else is window dressing.
