PMQs shows the Commons is braced for more chaos
Does anyone have the slightest clue what will actually happen once Britain finally leaves the EU?
Certainly not the denizens of the House of Commons if yesterday's Prime Minister's Questions is anything to go by, writes Peter Madeley.
Anyone looking for detailed economic analysis, clear questioning and informative responses would have more luck in the Dog and Doublet than in the Chamber.
Of course some analysis has been done, it's just that it is locked away in a cupboard because the Government doesn't want anyone to see it.
Remainer Chancellor Philip Hammond certainly wasn't present. His early morning opinion that Britain would be poorer after Brexit ensured he was probably in the same cupboard as the analysis for the duration of PMQs.
In times when a Government is in crisis, what the country really needs is an effective opposition, headed by a canny leader armed with a clear plan and the full support of his troops.
Instead we have Jeremy Corbyn and his unmerry band. He again dragged out his new favourite phrase – 'botched Brexit' – before traipsing through his usual array of newspaper friendly soundbites that pack little punch.
Theresa May had a point when she said Corbyn’s Brexit plan was shorter than her shopping list, a comment that brought more than a few stifled chuckles from the Labour benches.
When Corbyn noted that 20 ministers had resigned from May's front bench, she retorted that 100 shadow ministers had gone from his.
It was one the Labour leader really should have seen coming.
The elephant in the room – not addressed by Corbyn in what appeared to be yet another oversight – was that in a couple of weeks time May's Brexit plan will almost certainly be rejected by MPs.
So in the midst of Brexit the Tories will face a potential leadership battle, while Labour MPs argue amongst themselves over whether to go for a General Election or another referendum in the guise of a 'people's vote'.
It must all seem highly amusing to Michel Barnier and Jean-Claude Juncker, who are already basking in the glory of being handed the deal of a lifetime by our generous PM.
If PMQs was a tad subdued, it is probably because the whole House is bracing itself for the sheer madness that is about to ensue.
