Comments

1. Paul Anderson

   Tuesday 20 May 2008 at 0:01

   I’m afraid the Dude is a bit off on the grand tradition stuff here: PMQs date from the early 1960s in the HoC.

2. Will

   Tuesday 20 May 2008 at 0:08

   Source please.
   Give us the source.

3. Gregg

   Tuesday 20 May 2008 at 0:21

   1961, under Supermac.

4. Will

   Tuesday 20 May 2008 at 0:23

   Fucking A

   I will send the Hitch an email.

5. Gregg

   Tuesday 20 May 2008 at 0:25

   Also, Parliament only began to be televised in 1988 - though the early 80s C-SPAN programme he refers to could have been the audio broadcast, which started in 1978.

6. Gregg

   Tuesday 20 May 2008 at 0:34

   It’s important to distinguish between Parliamentary Questions and PMQs. Parliament has been able to ask questions of Ministers since the Georgian era, and I think that’s the tradition Hitchens is looking to. But those were limited by the brief of the Minister in question. The notion of being able to ask the PM a question on any matter, on the basis that as PM everything was ultimately his responsibility, is what came about in 1961.

7. Will

   Tuesday 20 May 2008 at 0:39

   Fairy muff Gregg — I take your countenance on this subject matter.

8. Gregg

   Tuesday 20 May 2008 at 0:53

   Hitch’s reference to big dogs in an over-crowded Parliament reminded me of this cartoon (which depicts two of the dogs he names).