PNQ's Unpacked on Times Radio, unpacking the politics and cutting through the crossfire. And I'm joined, as almost always, by the Times Chief Political Commentator Patrick McGuire. Hello, Patrick. Hello. Have you been? Very well. I'd just like to take listeners behind the curtain for a moment. Yes. Not my curtain. Whose curtain? Your curtain. Oh, I see. I didn't know I had a curtain. The curtain at this studio.

Well, there is a curtain there, isn't there? for a moment. Yes. Not my curtain. Whose curtain? Your curtain?

Oh, I see.

I didn't know I had a curtain.

What's about it happened?

Well, there is a curtain there, isn't there?

Anyway, sorry.

Let's not get bogged down in curtain, chat.

Just this new hot beverage policy where you have to drink out of a flask. I've nearly burnt my mouth. Yeah, me too. It's so you don't pour it over anything terribly important.

We're also joined by Labour peer Stuart Wood.

He was senior advisor to Gordon Brown

when he was Prime Minister, former advisor to Ed Miliband

as well when he was Labour leader.

Stuart, thanks for being with us. important. We're also joined by Labour peer Stuart Wood. He was senior advisor to Gordon Brown

when he was Prime Minister, former advisor to Ed Miliband as well when he was Labour leader. Stuart,

thanks for being with us. Not at all. Happy birthday. I mean, happy birthday to me. It's nice to see. It's nice thing you say happy birthday to me. It's my birthday next week. So pre-emann happy birthday in advance. Saying happy birthday to yourself. A bit like Mr Bean. No one else is going to do it, so I thought I'd do it for myself.

I was in the room at the Tory conference where Matt Hancock sang happy birthday to himself. Really? Yeah. That's not a good sign for a career. No, it's really not. What mine or his, I think it was downhill for both of us from there. That's bleak. Look, before we get cracking with PMQs, before we get the first question. So first up, Patrick, you've not been with us for the last couple of weeks. I'm sure you saw PMQs during those couple of weeks.

Last week, I would say, was certainly the worst PMQs since I've been doing this job in a year and a half, and perhaps one of the worst I've ever seen.

Yeah, I agree. Clearly, Kirsteman didn't want to be on the record making,

I can't even remember the embarrassing omission he was trying to avoid,

but it was just so, so odd.

It was whether Mandelson, it was whether he talked to Mandelson.

...