Speaker Bercow and apologies

I met Betty Boothroyd on a train once! She was very friendly.

The barracking of PMQ is an established part of Parliament's customs. It looks like a lot of immature 6th formers having a silly argument! No serious work happens there it is all point scoring!
BUT is is the custom and MPs on both sides seem to support it! Always a fine balance between tradition and modernisation! Prior to TV the public was far less aware of this nonsense.

Grannylin.
You are absolutely right Cameron did say 'muttering idiot' and not 'mumbling idiot', thanks.

Fieldwake.
I don't think the Labour M.P. who called Cameron an 'Arrogant Bas-ar-' was a public school boy, there are quite a few of them in their though, on both sides!. You are so right in saying bickering takes up time, it does waste the opportunity for good questions to be asked and replied to.

Bercow does always appear to have a go at the goernment side when far worse behaviour is coming from the opposition however. Bring back Betty I say, she was non patisan and a smart women.

Why? I've never noticed Balls had a stutter...

I read that Cameron actually called Balls ' a muttering idiot' - a bit too close to ' a stuttering idiot' which may have been a bit below the belt.

Yesabsent that is my point. I did actually know I can abstain by not turning up but that would not 'indicate that I don't like any of them'!

It seems to me that MPs don't behave very well whenever they're in the house but most of the time there aren't many of them present so it's less like an unruly primary school playground. However PMQs brings out all the senior MPs of all the parties – rather like flies around a rotting corpse – and they all concentrate of scoring points, producing carefully rehearsed off-the-cuff soundbites and being noticed. PMQs used to be daily but was reduced to a couple of times a week in the 1950s in deference to Mr Churchill's age and infirmity. Mr Blair reduced it to once a week for him to show off. I should like to see it restored to a daily occurrence, thus giving back benchers a higher profile and, perhaps to some extent, a greater say in what goes on. It might also reduce the rudeness and absurdity prevalent now and force the Government to be more answerable to the Commons.

...and Cameron needs to stand up straight when he's trying to look and sound important. Does he think that, by appearing to behave nonchalantly, he looks cool and with-it?...

Yes if they bring in compulsory voting.

But all this bickering takes up so much time and money. Surely an economic use of time and money is essential. Get down to business and sort things out. Us grans know how save time and money. Experts at cutting corners, use heads save legs, we never had the luxury of standing around in a suit arguing we had mouths to feed, clothes make/mend/wash/iron, houses to clean, etc. etc. etc. or there would be no men to stand around in suits arguing.

Horrid grown-up, should-know-better brats!

AlisonMA You have the right to abstain already – but it's not registered as an abstention i.e. a specific political decision. You're either a no-show (apathetic) or a spoilt ballot (stupid or anarchist). We need a "none of the above" option on the ballot paper, but we shan't get it.

They are all badly behaved. I always vote but don't want to next time, I want the right to abstain so I can indicate that I don't like any of them!

Really, though, the constant heckling from the Labour front bench would try the patience of a saint! (The other side is just as bad, of course!). It's just so rude.....

Do you think they learnt this behaviour at public school? They are saying on Daily Politics "it is not priminstrial behaviour. Lost temper when provoked"? Men are competitive? Would us women spend time working together trying to sort things out as we do on here? Cameron needs to keep his dignity, the Queen could give him an example there.

You summed it up nanaej; it is worse than school, but these people are running our country and getting paid shed loads of money for doing it! I suppose it could be worse - in some countries' parliaments, they have been known to come to actual fisticuffs! Don't think we want that (though if the PM keeps on letting MilliBalls wind him up, it can't be far off!

Yes, Cameron had the floor, but Balls had been doing his usual 'barracking' throughout the proceedings and Cameron just lost his rag! It really is all very unedifying and can't be doing much for the reputation of parliament.

missed these naughty goings on.. was the comment by Cameron made when he had the floor? Did the Labour MP make his remark on the benches or when called? I think that will be the 'official' difference. If both were made from the benches then neither should apologise as all part of the 'rhubarb rhubarb' of parliamentary 'debate'. If both made inappropriate comments once called by the speaker then both need to apologise... gosh it is worse than school!

PMQs is a waste of time - just half an hour of posturing on both sides. The real business of Parliament is done away from the cameras.

In my opinion, Michael Martin was hardly any better; odious man. Two of the best Speakers were George Thomas and Betty Boothroyd. DH watches PMQs on TV most days - I am embarrassed by the way MPs behave in Parliament. If they put as much energy into sorting out the economy as they do scoring points off each other and behaving like rowdy children, we might not be in the mess we are now! As for being partisan, should Bercow no longer have his job as Speaker, he would have no trouble getting a job at the BBC!

Bercow is blatantly anti-Tory even though he was technically one before his appointment. It's disgraceful the way he is openly partisan, in my opinion!