Sustained series of questions on Brexit hits the mark for the Labour leader as PM resorts to personal attacks in response

Key points

In a series of sharp exchanges on the government’s policies (or alleged lack of) on Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn repeatedly pressured the prime minister to confirm her policy on single market access for the UK; how many extra civil service employees would be required to cope with the workload; and whether the lord chancellor would defend the independence of the judiciary should the forthcoming supreme court appeal on article 50 go against the government.

May defended the government’s record, restated her reluctance to reveal her hand before negotiations with the EU and accused Corbyn of being incapable of leadership.

Corbyn puts May under pressure over Brexit at PMQs - Politics live Read more

Snap verdict

May was poor, not weak enough for this to register as a disaster, but deficient in authority and credibility, and Corbyn can head for lunch with a sense of “job done”. It wasn’t a classic victory – there weren’t any especially memorable put-downs and, although his final question contained a good soundbite, the pay-off line was flat – but Corbyn was asking all the right questions, and May’s “we won’t reveal our negotiating stance” line is sounding increasingly more like an excuse than a strategy.

You could tell she was on the defensive because she ended up lashing out at Corbyn, without the nastiness that Cameron often deployed in these circumstances, but equally without fully explaining her case. So, as Labour-bashing goes, it was rather lame.

Most memorable lines

We have an international development secretary who is opposed to overseas aid, a health secretary running down the National Health Service, a chancellor with no fiscal strategy, a lord chancellor who won’t defend the judiciary, a Brexit team with no plan for Brexit and a prime minister who is not prepared to answer questions on Brexit strategy. We need better answers than she’s given us.

Corbyn hammers May on the continuing vagueness over Brexit plans.

What we certainly have got is a leader of the opposition who is incapable of leading



May’s response.