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Article: Duel without purpose(prime minister question time)(Britain)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- March 18, 1995
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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FOR a performance of Hamlet without the prince, prime minister's question time on March 15th was surprisingly well-attended. This owed nothing to the attractions of John Major's understudy, Tony Newton, who filled in for the prime minister while Mr Major toured the Middle East. Even Mr Newton's friends do not claim that he is anything more than a safe pair of hands. No, MPs came to watch John Prescott, Labour's deputy leader, appearing for Tony Blair, his boss. Mr Prescott is famous for his fractured syntax and meandering mouth. On this occasion, those who came to laugh at his act were disappointed. Mr Prescott read out a lucid question without stumbling. Then, to show it ...