Cameron bids farewell to Harman
By Ian Dunt
David Cameron and Harriet Harman have enjoyed a friendly and good-tempered end to their time exchanging insults at the Commons despatch boxes.
It was Ms Harman’s final PMQs before the new Labour leader is unveiled at the start of the party conference in Manchester later this month.
Ms Harman went beyond common courtesy by offering the prime minister her condolences for the death of his father last week, before congratulating him over the birth of his daughter during the summer.
Mr Cameron said Ms Harman had been the third Labour leader he’d faced across the despatch box. “I think she’s by far the most popular,” he added.
“It’s just as well I’m not wearing a hoodie today,” Ms Harman replied, to roars of laughter in the Commons.
But the prime minister could not resist a little dig at Mr Harman, reminding her that she has four votes in the Labour leadership election while her husband has three.
“Democracy is a beautiful thing,” he told her.
Ms Harman spent much of the exchange encouraging Mr Cameron to sign up to an EU directive on human trafficking.
The prime minister said most of its changes were already law in the UK and that it could adversely affect border security.
“The last government signed far too many things without thinking about what the consequences were,” Mr Cameron said.
The new Labour leader will be announced on Saturday September 25th.
