PMQs - The Verdict

It being Budget day, prime minister's questions was little more than the warm-up act for Alistair Darling and a Budget that sounded as if it needed all the warming up it could get.

Until Gordon Brown occupied the Treasury it was traditional for a chancellor to deliver his financial package to the Commons with a strong drink to see him through.

Puritanically, the son of the manse drank mineral water and now in these harder and more environmentally aware times, Darling will only have the tap variety to fortify him against David Cameron's second turn of the afternoon in responding to the Budget.

Brown got his speech about Labour's positive economic record in before anyone else had a chance to pin the blame on the former chancellor for the tight corner Darling finds himself in.

The prime minister was helped with a whip's planted question from Michael J Foster who extolled the virtues of the national minimum wage and other measures from ancient history.

Cameron noted the tactic, which is becoming an increasingly regular feature at PMQs, and said: "I'm not sure the planted questions get any better."

But the Tory leader did not follow up on the economy and used his two sets of questions to ask Brown about some worthy, low-key subjects.

Cameron said that Brown had failed to live up to his promise to create more stability in Darfur in the first set and called on the government to allow free votes on the Embryology and Fertilisation Bill in the second.

Meanwhile, Nick Clegg sought to expand on his radical vision for "cleaning up" British politics and ending the role of "big money", as set out at his party's spring conference.

The Liberal Democrat leader said that Labour and the Conservatives were taking little action and would not reform as they were bankrolled by big money donors and the unions.

Andrew Mackay drew attention to the fact that as chancellor, Brown would not give Number 10 any details of the Budget until the last possible moment for fear of leaks and Tony Blair claiming the credit. "Can we assume that the current chancellor has been more co-operative?" the Tory MP asked.

"It is because of co-operation in government that we are the government that has created more stability than any government in the history of this country," Brown replied, failing to answer the question, abusing grammar and getting annoyed all at the same time.

Proceedings became most lively when Boris Johnson got to his feet. The Conservative London mayoral candidate asked Brown about "rowdy behaviour" on the capital's buses.

Brown archly replied that the "member for Henley" planned to cut investment in the police and Transport for London and praised Labour mayor Ken Livingstone more fully than in recent weeks.

The Verdict

Gordon Brown: 6/10 - Probably relieved not to be the focus of attention on a Wednesday.

David Cameron: 7/10 - Did reasonably well with some worthy, low-key stuff.

Nick Clegg: 7/10 - The barracking is getting worse but attempted to build on his vow to clean up British politics.