Jeremy Corbyn: ‘I showed respect during national anthem’

He said: “Shadow Home Secretary is a huge role and it is an honour to be asked to do it. I always said that I would serve the party and the country in any way that I can”.

“Each individual has to make their own decision but the vast majority of people are saying that he’s been elected by an overwhelming majority and we must provide an effective Labour opposition”. “So I thought in my first PMQs I would do it in a slightly different way,” Corbyn said.

Mr Corbyn will be wanting to leave the controversy behind him at his first PMQs, which he has indicated he wants to conduct the weekly session differently, “with a little less theatre and a lot more fact”.

Normally it is the Prime Minister who has to do the most preparation, dedicating his morning to preparing responses to possible questions from the Leader of the Opposition and other MPs.

The anti-war campaigner stayed tight-lipped as veterans, RAF officers and dignitaries including Prime Minister David Cameron all sang.

Mr Murray said: “We all need to unite behind the new leader”.

When faced with a question from mental health worker Angela, for example, the PM awkwardly responded that changes can not be made without a “strong economy”.

Jeremy Corbyn at the Jeremy Corbyn Labour Party leadership rally in the Camden Centre. Meanwhile, Cameron was business-like in his navy blue jacket and tie combination, which was broken up by his white shirt.

The spectacle was far from the cut and thrust of previous Cameron grillings by Corbyn’s predecessor Ed Miliband, and the cheers and jeers from opposing sides of the House of Commons were less audible than before. But as the OBR warned after the Budget, too much meddling over rents and right to buy could lead the Office for National Statistics to reclassify them, thus transferring all that debt onto the public balance sheet. Cameron reciprocated Corbyn’s respectful tone and the debate took a productive turn.

While some on Twitter questioned whether Corbyn’s style was tough enough to enable him to hold the Prime Minister to account in the way necessary, reception to his approach was broadly positive. It turned fiery as the politicians clashed over the issue of Scottish devolution. “In terms of foreign policy, his message of addressing the causes of conflict is essential and long overdue”.

“Tories (Conservatives) sniggering every time Corbyn mentions a member of the public’s name”.