Whilst discussing the recent exchanges between Gordon Brown and David Cameron with a couple of friends I got some odd looks when I suggested Cameron was behaving like a young Frank Bruno. I received some quizzical looks until I got the chance to embelish my theory. It goes something like this.
Brown has been getting the better of Cameron at PMQs since Parliament returned from the Summer break. Prior to that Cameron had done very well. But every week now he seems to get caught by the ‘clunking fist’ and gets a lecture on the economy. Most weeks Cameron tries to toe-to-toe it on the economy for all or at least most of his six questions. Its built GB’s confidence up and he is now on top of his game.
Harry Carpenter always used to say when Bruno got beaten in his early title fights that it was because in order to be champion, Bruno thought he had to be the best fighter – in every department. So if ‘Bonecrusher Smith’ wanted to turn it in to battle on the inside involving low blows, kidney punches and ear-biting, Bruno felt the need to partake and try to be better at ‘fighting inside’, instead of playing to his own strengths.
You can’t avoid the economy as the battleground, but there have been other issues out there. Cameron used to thrown in a wild card on Darfur or the prescribing of Hizb-ut-tahrir. The fact of the matter is that no matter what subject Cameron goes on now, he has given his opponent the time to grow in confidence – Brown is now a different proposition at the despatch box each Wednesday.
