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Prime Minister’s Questions during the pandemic has been a bizarre spectacle at times.
As Boris Johnson has gone head-to-head with Keir Starmer, the chamber has often been empty and the topics of discussion have been increasingly dystopian.
This week was no different, but thankfully there was the good news that Britain has given the green light for the Pfizervaccine for Covid-19 to be used as early as next week.
Over the last few months we’ve seen Johnson resort to all kinds of strange jokes to escape Starmer’s forensic grilling style. There was that time he said Starmer “had more flip flops than Bournemouth beach” and “more briefs than Calvin Klein”.
Another nickname Johnson enjoys trotting out when backed into a corner is referring to Starmer as “Captain Hindsight”, presumably to infer that he changes his mind often.
And this week, it made an appearance yet again.
Boris: "I would take him more seriously if he could actually be bothered to vote" "At this critical moment he told… https://t.co/q2CLkfKfTc— News Addict (@News Addict) 1606911923
Starmer pressed Johnson on how his government planned to support the 25,000 workers who are worried about their jobs following the collapse of the Arcadia Group and Debenhams.
Seemingly unhappy with this line of questioning, Johnson retorted by questioning why Starmer “told his troops” to abstain on voting on legislation that would open up the economy in some parts of the country. This is in relation to Labour’s abstention on voting to move from a national lockdown to the new tiers system in England.
On Twitter, people weren’t impressed with Johnson using nicknames yet again.
Hang on a minute, isn’t Boris calling Kier Starmer ‘General Indecision’ a bit like Harold Shipman calling Dr Hilary Jones a ‘terrible GP’?— Jonathan Pie (@Jonathan Pie) 1606915110
"Captain Hindsight has become General Indecision" says Major Catastrophe, leader of his country to the worst Covid… https://t.co/knw048iYqE— dave ❄️ 🥕 🧻 (@dave ❄️ 🥕 🧻) 1606911987
Although some people found it funny…
“Captain Hindsight is rising rapidly up the ranks to become General Indecision” Actually laughed out loud at that one from Boris. #PMQs— Tom Harwood (@Tom Harwood) 1606911452
It's probably best to avoid using names like Captain Hindsight or General Indecision if, like Johnson, people associate you with oversights and U-turns.
I mean, it’s a good line and all that, but can’t help thinking the PM’s “General Indecision” label applies better t… https://t.co/mRAkvErX9x— Pippa Crerar (@Pippa Crerar) 1606911886
But will this stop him from using it? Unlikely.