Jeremy Corbyn’s new approach to Prime Minister’s Questions has forced David Cameron to change the way he does politics, the woman who suggested the Labour leader’s first question has said.
Marie, from Putney, had suggested that the new Labour leader ask about solving the UK’s housing crisis after he opened his door to ideas from members of the public.
“I think Jeremy put that point over very well today. I liked the way he did it, and in a calm and collective way he was quite censorious of the prime minister,” she told the LBC radio station.
“I liked the way he looked at him over the top of his glasses: it was quite calm and collected. The prime minister had to change his way of doing things to Jeremy Corbyn’s way. Surely, that’s a massive mark up for Corbyn to begin with.”
David Cameron at PMQs
Mr Corbyn put a comment box on his website and emailed supporters asking them for questions on issues they believed should be raised at Prime Minister’s Questions.
He said he hoped his new approach would change the way the debate in parliament was conducted.
The south London resident told the radio programme that she had never been a member of a political party before but signed up to Labour after Mr Corbyn’s campaign caught her eye.
“It was at that point that I signed up because I said, ‘here’s a real person’ – I really do believe he’s a real person. I just felt compelled.”
She said she had put three questions to Mr Corbyn and that she was “lucky enough” to have had one selected.
She confirmed that her question had been asked “word-for-word” and explained why she thought housing was an important issue for the Labour leader to start with.
“All around where I live we are surrounded by buildings going up … completely surrounded by massive new flat developments … those are flats for rich people. No ordinary working person on an average wage could even begin to contemplate buying one of those and social housing itself is being completely demolished by this completely stupid policy of selling off the housing stock.”
Mr Corbyn also asked about cuts to tax credits and the state of Britain’s mental health services.
Labour Shadow Cabinet: The key figures
His new approach to quizzing the Prime Minister appeared to calm the session, with noticeably less shouting and braying than usual in the chamber.
It appeared to be more difficult under the new format for the leader of the opposition to pin the PM into a corner over his answers, however.
