'Ask your mother': Cameron and Corbyn in bizarre row at PMQs

Mark Chandler|Amy Ashenden24 February 2016
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn were today invovled in a bizarre row about their mothers during Prime Minister's Questions.

The row broke out over the issue of junior doctors’ contracts, with the Labour leader claiming Mr Cameron was provoking strike action and challenging him over spending on agency staff in the Prime Minister’s Oxfordshire constituency.

Mr Cameron said he had met with the head of the area’s NHS trust and found he was supportive of a seven-day NHS.

Labour's Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris shouted out "Ask your mother," a dig at Mary Cameron signing a petition against cuts to children's centres in her son's constituency.

The Prime Minister hit back: “I think I know what my mother would say. I think she’d look across the dispatch box and she’d say ‘Put on a proper suit, do up your tie and sing the national anthem’.”

Corbyn replied: “If we are talking of motherly advice, my late mother would have said, 'stand up for the principle of a health service free at the point of use for everybody', because that's what she dedicated her life to, as did many of her generation.”

The reaction on Twitter swung between being amused and distinctly unimpressed.

Sue McDougall wrote: "My mum is better than your mum, both Corbyn and Cameron #PMQ. What a choice.”

And Kate McCann tweeted: “I usually stand up for #PMQs because it is, mostly, brilliant. But this is playground stuff. My Mum is better than yours is below most kids.

“This is literally two of the most powerful men in the country trading "yer Mum" insults.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in