The day Joanna Lumley put David Cameron in the shade

By David Higgerson on May 7, 09 01:52 PM

THERE are sadistic few who enjoy watching a wounded animal staggering around and lashing out while its tormentors hold back from going in for the kill.

Which is probably what makes Prime Ministers' Questions such a sad spectacle at the moment.

Gordon Brown is on the ropes, but no-one seems prepared - or capable - of delivering that knock-out blow that would put him out of his misery.

Tormentor-in-chief, David Cameron, seems happy just to thrust political gossip - such the rumour that Brown's been throwing printers around - back at the prime minister, while mocking the PM's attempts to hit back with a quick one-liner.

On one hand, Cameron is calling for an election to avoid a 'year of doing nothing,' but on the other hand, isn't using his position as prime minister-in-waiting to help drive an agenda.

The more he snipes and tries to humiliate Brown, the less he'll get in return. It appears obviously Brown isn't the sort of chap who enjoys working with other parties, but at the moment the Labour Party doesn't appear to be keen on any sort of work.

Having promised to support the Government to get through the economic crisis we are now in, Cameron has since retreated to a position where he is happy to lob stones, safe in the knowledge that he'll be the one repairing the glass windows next year.

Now contrast that with Joanna Lumley, the actress who has come to the forefront of the Gurkha campaign. Admittedly, she has the moral right on her side, but having gained an audience with PM to discuss the issue of Gurkha residency in the UK, she played a totally different game to Cameron.

Where as the stock in trade of the Tories is to find a fault and point it out, or harp on about "too little, too late" - think SATs fiasco, think bank bailouts, think NHS reform - Lumley opted for the kind to be cruel approach.

Speaking to the media outside Westminster, she said she had total faith in the PM to come up with a fresh solution to the Gurkha issue. She used words like integrity and trust, and phrases like "man of his word" and "leader of our country" to back up her belief that the PM will get it right.

In doing so, she's boxed him tightly into a corner, setting him a challenge to deliver in a way which, you presume, will make him want to deliver.

She'll probably get what she wants. David Cameron should look to her if he's serious about changing government policy, rather than just scoring cheap political points.