‘This is the end …’ hinted Theresa May while talking about austerity during her conference speech (once she had stopped dancing around the stage).
But is it? Well, ‘probably not’ most people in the know will tell you. And for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn her claims were an open goal.
Corbyn took austerity as a theme and coupled it with spending on mental health, policing, education and local government.
READ: IMF: Brexit could wreck global economy
He demanded ‘when will austerity be over for the police?’ after listing the cuts made by the government. May answered with a list. She does that as a default. This week it was list after list after list.
Corbyn made some smart moves. Going through sectors in this manner highlights just how hard it is going to be for the prime minister to make good her promise to end austerity. He called the claim a ‘great big Conservative con’.
And yet she vowed: ‘Austerity is being brought to an end.’
A bodged Brexit might not be the only toxic legacy she passes on to her successor.
The PM did end well though, as she often does, attacking Labour’s plans for the economy which does have proven cut-through with the public.
But this PMQs was a clear victory for the Labour leader.
MORE: ‘I think I’ll be busy’ – Danny Boyle distances himself from Brexit festival
MORE: Minister: ‘Brexit will go down to the wire’
MORE: Achtung Europa: Bono calls on stars to celebrate ‘romance’ of continent
Most popular
Alastair Campbell’s Diary: Disappointing Greta Thunberg and a night out with the Kinnocks
Mandrake: Facing the fury of Nadine Dorries
