Keith Newbery Miliband boxes clever in his first foray into the PMQ bear pit

David Cameron spent almost three years during PMQs imploring Gordon Brown to provide a straight answer to a straight question.

But now he is operating from the 
other side of the Despatch Box, the Conservative leader has realised there is much to commend foggy imprecision, generalised waffle and one or two carefully-prepared ad-libs.

This approach worked against Harriet Harman because she had a tendency to allow her frustration to manifest itself in little sighs and fluting expressions of exasperation.

However, if the questioning from across the aisle continues to be as calm, forensic and persistent as that provided by Ed Miliband during his debut in the bear pit, Cameron may have to rethink his strategy.

It’s amusing to recall that some pundits (including the inestimable Nick Robinson) were actually advising the prime minister to go easy on the new boy because there was little to be gained from biffing him around the playground.

But far from appearing intimidated or in any way fazed by the occasion, Miliband seemed to unsettle Cameron with a composure which bordered on the Zen-like.

Some Tory chump popped up with a planted question about his leading a parliamentary party which had not actually voted for him, but it rebounded harmlessly off the carapace of serenity Miliband junior had constructed around himself.

In a spookily-understated way, he kept forcing Cameron to defend the indefensible by continually probing the Coalition’s manifestly inequitable plan to deprive some stay-at-home parents of their child allowance.

It was an effective performance. Think of Laurence Olivier, as the mad dentist in Marathon Man, inflicting intense pain while calmly interrogating Dustin Hoffman, and you have it exactly.

Miliband raised his voice only once – and that was to emphasise the final few words of his last question.

Cameron, on the other hand, was forced to resort to some minor personal abuse and a feeble pun – ‘it’s not red, it’s Brown!’

Had it been a boxing match, Miliband would have been awarded a comfortable points’ victory.

Cameron, meanwhile, would be well advised to head back to the gym and work on his counter-punching.

Flailing around in the hope of landing a knockout punch is no longer good enough.