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PMQs and the hee-hees and the ha-has

Thursday, April 8, 2010

I listened to Prime Minister's Questions yesterday - by accident. Nick Clegg had just got up and targeted both Brown and Cameron for an electioneering savaging, referring to them dismissively as "he and he". This provoked a flurry of "hee-hees" as both Tory and Labour MPs engaged in mock laughter at his presumption. This touched a Tudor memory.

To mark his marriage to Anne Boleyn in 1533, Henry VIII had their initials HA entwined on tapestries. Many Londoners were unimpressed and took the piss by crying "Ha! Ha!" at the much despised wedding pageant, in a manner reminiscent of the Commons. For a moment history came to life as politics suffered a concussion.

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