The problem with PMQs for Labour

ED Miliband has been in improving form of late at PMQs, in my opinion. David Cameron, in contrast, seems to be struggling when walking the fine line between quick-witted reply and flash posh boy. In opposition, that didn't so much - in charge of a government which is making lots of cuts, it's a different story.

But I'm not going to blog here about the part of PMQs which much more knowledgeable people than me analysise each week - the battle between the PM and the opposition leader.

No, instead lets talk about Dennis Skinner. Really. He stood up in the Commons and unleashed one of his usual ultra left-wing rants against the Tories.

The general theme of his rant was this: The number of billionaires in the UK has gone up by 20 in the last 12 months, up 30-something percent. This is because, said Skinner, the Tories are in charge. At the same time, inflation is hurting everyone else, and we have blind people taking to the streets in protest at losing disability living allowance. In other words: Aren't you ashamed of yourself, Mr Tory?

There was much cheering and jeering at Skinner's remarks. He is, of course, a left-wing institution in his own right. But in this context, he's also very damaging to Labour - or indeed any faction trying to oppose the government's spendng plans.

The rise in billionaires is utterly irrelevant to the rise in inflation, and the rise in inflation is also unconnected to the disability living allowance. Stitch them together and you have a good speech, but nothing based in fact.

Cameron was able to dismiss Skinner easily - pointing to the new lower unemployment figures and suggesting that Skinner lives in 'dinosaurland.'

And it's a small skip for the Tories to paint all opponents to spending cuts as being like Skinner. It's a bit like letting the genie out of the bottle. Here's the looney left, not living in the real world and so on.

The Tories, on the other hand, have so far managed to keep most of their right-wing genies locked up, to mix some metaphors. Labour would dearly love for them to be unleashed - here are the 'real' Tories and so on - but it's not happening.

Miliband, as I said at the start, has improved massively his ability to take on Cameron - and win - at PMQs. He needs to get to work on his backbenchers now. Skinner might be a legend, but he's also a liability to a leader who has yet to work out what the party's real message on cuts is.