Prime Ministers Questions is, at the best of times, a poor way for Parliament to oversee the governance of the nation. When the session falls before local elections, it’s just dreadful.

“As a result of the malevolent actions of Labour-controlled Warbling Borough Council, my constituents live in a dystopian hellscape”

For a loyal Tory backbencher, a standard PMQs question might be something along the lines of: “Does the prime minister agree with me that, thanks to the wisdom and determination of this Conservative government, my constituents in Little Warbling North enjoy a standard of living that is the envy of the free world, their children educated in schools so well-equipped that headteachers write to me begging us to stop sending them money, their roads so well-maintained that NASA scientists researching frictionless surfaces have asked to study them? And does he further agree that all of this would be put into terrible danger if the government were for one single second to heed the words of the leader of the opposition, with his demands for unlimited immigration and the immediate execution by firing squad of all our beloved nurses?”

When there is a local election on the way, though, the standard question changes a little: “Does the prime minister agree that, as a result of the malevolent actions of Labour-controlled Warbling Borough Council, my constituents live in a dystopian hellscape, where bandit hordes battle for control of water and fuel, where the streets run red with the blood of the innocent, and where the only justice a man can hope for is the sort he can find for himself with a nail-studded baseball bat? And would he therefore urge my constituents to vote Conservative tomorrow?”

I exaggerate, but not a lot. On Wednesday, for example, Gagan Mohindra asked Rishi Sunak whether he agreed that “the choice tomorrow is simple: vote Conservative to protect our green belt, or vote Lib Dem for massive developments on unspoilt land?” Karl McCartney was sadly cut off by the Speaker before he could finish asking Sunak whether he too felt that on Thursday “the people of Lincoln will have the chance to remove from office the anti-business socialist Scrooges and elect local Conservatives.”

The session had opened with Sunak wishing King Charles all the best for the coronation on Saturday. It would be, he said “a demonstration of our country’s character”. This is definitely true, in that we’ve already divided ourselves between people who are moaning about the event itself, and people who are moaning about the moaners. Britain loves nothing more than having something to complain about. We must all pray that the forecasts of light rain during the event itself prove to be correct, enabling republicans to laugh and monarchists to be stoic.

The Nats are suddenly very worried about the Labour party

Sunak’s exchanges with Keir Starmer have fallen into their own pattern. The Labour leader asks the prime minister about something that’s in a mess — there is no shortage of possibilities — and when he denies it, accuses him of being out of touch. This week it was housing.

“Does the prime minister know how many mortgage payers are paying higher rates since the Tory party crashed the economy last autumn?” Starmer asked.

“Because of our tax cuts, 90 per cent of first-time buyers now do not pay any stamp duty at all,” Sunak said, effortlessly answering a question that he wished he’d been asked.

“Does the prime minister know how many more people will be joining them on higher mortgage rates by the end of this year?” Starmer asked, sticking with his line.

“The Bank of England is showing that public expectations of inflation have now eased to a 15-month low,” replied Sunak, if “replied” is the appropriate word to use when someone completely ignores the question. It was a touch surreal, like the Two Ronnies sketch where a Mastermind contestant answers the previous question.

The prime minister does have one thing on his side, which is that the Covid pandemic delivered all sorts of statistical anomalies. It is true, for instance, that as Sunak said there were a record number of first-time housebuyers in 2021, but that was partly because the number slumped in 2020 when no one was allowed to look at any houses. We’re going to be hearing all kinds of numbers quoted in the next few years that probably ought to have a large asterisk next to them.

There has been one change in PMQs in recent weeks. In the old days, the Scottish National Party leader used to ask long, long questions about the awfulness of the Conservatives, relative to the enlightened government sitting in Edinburgh. The new SNP leader in Westminster, Stephen Flynn, is far pithier, and he also has a new target. “David Cameron convinced Nick Clegg to adopt his pledge on university tuition fees,” he began. “Does the prime minister intend to take the credit for convincing the leader of the Labour party to do likewise?”

It was a decent line, and a sign of where the SNP’s concerns lie these days. Like Conservative MPs asking about their local councils, the Nats are suddenly very worried about the Labour party.