Corbyn brings new style to UK PM debate
Newly elected British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn yesterday engaged with David Cameron for the first time, bringing a low-key style to the usually raucous weekly showdown of Prime Minister's Questions.
The radical left-winger, whose refusal to sing "God Save the Queen" drew ire from the right-wing press, broke with convention and selected his six questions from the public having "crowd sourced" ideas online.
"I want things to be rather different because I think the public as a whole have had enough of 'yah-boo sucks' politics, theatrical politics," the 66-year-old socialist said before the debate.
Cameron welcomed the call for a more orderly debate and was noticeably less blustery than before.
Questions from "Angela", "Steven", "Gail", "Marie", "Paul" and "Claire" dealt mainly with the provision of affordable housing and welfare cuts, hinting at the issues that will form the basis of his opposition.
The spectacle was far from the cut and thrust of previous Cameron grillings by Corbyn's predecessor Ed Miliband, and the cheers and jeers from opposing sides of the House of Commons were less audible than before.
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