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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/04/pmqs-verdict-corbyn-takes-unexpected-bus-route-to-victory
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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| PMQs verdict: Corbyn takes unexpected bus route to victory | PMQs verdict: Corbyn takes unexpected bus route to victory |
| (about 2 months later) | |
| Key points | Key points |
| Theresa May pays tribute to the NHS at 70 and the dedication and hard work of NHS staff across the country. She also hails the “very rare and welcome event” of an England win in a penalty shootout. | Theresa May pays tribute to the NHS at 70 and the dedication and hard work of NHS staff across the country. She also hails the “very rare and welcome event” of an England win in a penalty shootout. |
| Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs - Politics live | Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs - Politics live |
| Jeremy Corbyn begins by calling for increased funding for the NHS and, of course, congratulating England. After a long build-up, the Labour leader’s first question is about an issue few people would have expected: buses. Does the PM accept her policy on bus travel has failed? | Jeremy Corbyn begins by calling for increased funding for the NHS and, of course, congratulating England. After a long build-up, the Labour leader’s first question is about an issue few people would have expected: buses. Does the PM accept her policy on bus travel has failed? |
| May responds by blaming local authorities, saying they are responsible. She then contrasts her NHS spending plans with those promised by Labour at the last election. | May responds by blaming local authorities, saying they are responsible. She then contrasts her NHS spending plans with those promised by Labour at the last election. |
| Corbyn asks again about buses, saying services have been reduced. “A bus pass isn’t much use if there isn’t a bus,” he says. May again defends her policies, saying local authorities must take responsibility. Corbyn again pushes her on the subject, asking if she believes buses should be left to the market. | Corbyn asks again about buses, saying services have been reduced. “A bus pass isn’t much use if there isn’t a bus,” he says. May again defends her policies, saying local authorities must take responsibility. Corbyn again pushes her on the subject, asking if she believes buses should be left to the market. |
| This might seem niche to some, but bus travel is a big issue – and disproportionately affects people on lower incomes. And more bus trips are made then journeys by train. | This might seem niche to some, but bus travel is a big issue – and disproportionately affects people on lower incomes. And more bus trips are made then journeys by train. |
| Corbyn reiterates his points on bus travel, and points to the policy of London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, to freeze bus fares. May responds by saying bus travel in London is falling (it is, but there seem to be all sorts of reasons for this). The Labour leader demands new powers on transport for metro mayors. | Corbyn reiterates his points on bus travel, and points to the policy of London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, to freeze bus fares. May responds by saying bus travel in London is falling (it is, but there seem to be all sorts of reasons for this). The Labour leader demands new powers on transport for metro mayors. |
| Corbyn sticks with the subject, using his now-traditional final peroration to emphasise the point that for many people, bus travel is “the only mode of transport available”. He says people across the nation have a right to regulated bus services. | Corbyn sticks with the subject, using his now-traditional final peroration to emphasise the point that for many people, bus travel is “the only mode of transport available”. He says people across the nation have a right to regulated bus services. |
| May – who it’s fair to guess, did not expect this subject to crop up – says it has been the Conservatives who have created metro mayors, and defends her record. | May – who it’s fair to guess, did not expect this subject to crop up – says it has been the Conservatives who have created metro mayors, and defends her record. |
| Snap verdict | Snap verdict |
| Two days before the crunch Brexit summit at Chequers and with May facing near-open revolt from her MPs; hours after the NAO accused Esther McVey of misleading parliament; a day before the NHS’s 70th anniversary – it’s a good guess that not many people outside Corbyn’s key team knew that the subject of today’s PMQs would be bus services. | Two days before the crunch Brexit summit at Chequers and with May facing near-open revolt from her MPs; hours after the NAO accused Esther McVey of misleading parliament; a day before the NHS’s 70th anniversary – it’s a good guess that not many people outside Corbyn’s key team knew that the subject of today’s PMQs would be bus services. |
| But for all the regular airing of woes about rail travel in the Commons, this is a worthwhile and often-neglected subject, and one that affects millions of people, often in poorer communities. It didn’t make for the most dramatic PMQs clash of recent months, but the subject is a core Corbyn area, touching on poverty, social justice and the effects of privatisation and deregulation. | But for all the regular airing of woes about rail travel in the Commons, this is a worthwhile and often-neglected subject, and one that affects millions of people, often in poorer communities. It didn’t make for the most dramatic PMQs clash of recent months, but the subject is a core Corbyn area, touching on poverty, social justice and the effects of privatisation and deregulation. |
| I’m not sure we learned a vast amount about the subject apart from that fact that the prime minister hasn’t got a huge amount to say on it, beyond seeking to pass the responsibility on to local authorities, and a general attempt to take credit for metro mayors. So, one perhaps for the purists, but can be chalked down as a win for the Labour leader. | I’m not sure we learned a vast amount about the subject apart from that fact that the prime minister hasn’t got a huge amount to say on it, beyond seeking to pass the responsibility on to local authorities, and a general attempt to take credit for metro mayors. So, one perhaps for the purists, but can be chalked down as a win for the Labour leader. |
| Memorable lines | Memorable lines |
| Today’s most memorable line came from neither May nor Corbyn but Tory MP Scott Mann, whose starting line was: | Today’s most memorable line came from neither May nor Corbyn but Tory MP Scott Mann, whose starting line was: |
| You wait forever for a bus question at PMQs, and then seven come along at once. | You wait forever for a bus question at PMQs, and then seven come along at once. |
| PMQs | PMQs |
| Bus fares | Bus fares |
| Road transport | Road transport |
| Jeremy Corbyn | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Theresa May | Theresa May |
| House of Commons | House of Commons |
| Transport | Transport |
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