Wednesday 14th December 2011 | 11:38

PMQs - Liveblog

Unemployment figures and the eurozone crisis are top of the agenda as David Cameron and Ed Miliband lock horns for the final Prime Minister's Questions of the year. Read all the latest exchanges on PoliticsHome's Liveblog.

12.53 That’s it. This liveblog has finished, but you can continue to follow the rolling political developments of the day via our Green Box blog, or read our write-up of PMQs.

12.46 Grant Shapps has been on the Daily Politics as well:

"We’re not living in a great world; you wouldn’t want any of this and you wouldn’t want to be in a position as well where all your export markets are going through it. It was always going to be tough for this Government.

"The problem Ed has is this: if you’re not saying what you would do, then no one thinks you have the solution. The first thing you have to do is have a plan before you can criticise others."

12.45 Over at the Telegraph, James Kirkup has written a great blog about the future of the Coalition.

12.42 On the BBC's Daily Politics Labour's Caroline Flint is giving her reaction:

"Ed Miliband’s job is to ask the questions that do reflect the concerns in the country, and that’s what our backbenches want to see. What we consistently see from one week to the next is David Cameron refusing to answer that. There has been a hit in the polls from Europe, but it’s actually about the medium and long-term. Our concern from the summit is where does it leave us on the big questions in Europe. What’s clear is that there are a lot of questions left to be answered."

12.40 Sir Menzies Campbell is responding now on the BBC on Nick Clegg's absence earlier in the week.

"He took the view that his presence would have been a distraction...the fact is he turned up today when one would have expected the leader of the Opposition to have Nick Clegg in his sights and he missed him completely.

"David Cameron on Monday said in terms that membership of the EU is vital to our national interest...there were a number of other passages that made it clear how important he attaches to our membership of the European Union."

12.37 The Mirror's James Lyons says that the chief whip has been busy but successful. The BBC's Norman Smith adds that David Cameron's "brothers" line was good and Ed Miliband "should have seen it coming".

12.36 A great tweet from Conservative MP Dan Byles: "Fire up the Quattro". Life on Mars Gene Hunt actor in the Special Gallery watching PMQs

12.35 Labour's Anne McGuire asked Mr Cameron how, if the Government is reducing benefits for disabled children, we can be “all in this together”.

12.29 PoliticsHome editor Paul Waugh picks up on the potential similarities between Andy Mackay - outgoing Commons doorkeeper - and Andrew Mackay, he PM's exes-hungry ex-PPS.

12.28 Eurosceptic Tory George Eustice raises the issue of banks using the threat of receivership to get charges from small businesses. He called this “effectively an extortionate position”.

The Prime Minister says it is vital to get banks lending.

"It's absolutely vital that not only we get our banks lending properly and lending to small businesses but we make sure they behave in an ethical and proper way as they do so. We also need to make sure that the practices the banks follow are fair and seen to be fair, they have an interest in making sure small businesses are in good health."

Labour's Russell Brown adds: “The predicted squeeze on the retail sector will only increase the chances of youth unemployment.”

12.28 Channel 4's Economics Editor Faisal Islam has been counting Mr Cameron's words as well.

12.27 Kevin Barron says: “In the last quarter 22% of 16 year-olds are unemployed. The Prime Minister ranted earlier about what the Government is doing for youth unemployment. Can he tell us why it’s rising?”

Mr Cameron hits back:

12.26 Mr Cameron takes another jibe at Mr Miilband:

"On the one hand he wants to join the euro if he's PM for long enough, on the other hand he wants to sign a treaty... oh that's rubbish? He doesn't want to be PM for long enough? He tells us he's got a five-point plan, I can sum it up in five words. Let's Bankrupt Britain Again." (which is four words).

12.25 Labour's Bob Ainsworth asks: "Is freezing the pay of soldier in Afghanistan “a breach of the military covenant”?"

The Prime Minister responds:

"It is this Government that doubled the operational allowance which is the best way to get money to the privates and corporals in Afghanistan."

12.23 Philip Hollobone asks when the EU agreement on prisoner transfer comes into force. “Given some 132% of our prison population is made up of foreign nations, will the Prime Minister make sure the European nations stick to the rules?”

The Prime Minister responded:

"We have 13% of our prisons spaces taken by foreign nationals, it is hugely expensive and this EU-wide agreement gives us great opportunity to return people to their national prisons and save money."

12.22 The Mirror's Kevin Maguire says that David Cameron's quips got him through today's PMQs.

12.22 Tory Julian Sturdy asks for tourism to be promoted in the run-up to the Olympic games. The Prime Minister says the Government will "do just that".

"There are going to be millions of people coming to the country for the Olympics... there will be all sorts of promotions and schemes we will be running to do just that."

12.19 Conservative Sheryll Murray says: "Soaring immigration was not caused by the prospect of prosperity, but by the open-door policy of the previous government.”

The Prime Minister responds:

"The report said specifically the increase in net immigration to the UK was not driven primarily by the economic performance of the UK. Under the last government they quadrupled immigration, they let an extra 2.2m people into this country."

12.18 Simon Wright raises the Telegraph’s story about “pocket-money priced alcohol”, with Mr Cameron admitting that low cost alcohol was a problem.

"Very low cost alcohol is part of the problem in our town centres, one of the answers is to ban deeply discounted alcohol...I note very carefully the letter that is in the paper this morning from a whole set of people with great expertise in this area."

12.17 Labour's Yvonne Fovague asks when the Prime Minister would act to protect people from legal payday lenders.

The Prime Minister says that the Government was looking into the issue.

12.15 David Blunkett raises the issue of education.

“It would be perverse; in fact it would be absurd for those coming from abroad to settle to take citizenship lessons when we are withdrawing them from our own children”.

Mr Cameron responded that citizenship lessons would mean nothing without basic literacy or numeracy.

"If you can't read or write properly no lessons in citizenship will mean anything at all. I strongly support teaching young children bout the importance of financial education."

12.14 PoliticsHome editor Paul Waugh picks up on Mr Cameron's response and notices David Miliband is not present.

12.13 The Prime Minister makes a sharp jibe at Mr Miliband, saying that he "makes weakness and indecision an art form".

"He told us at the start of the year, in his New Year’s message ‘The fightback starts in Scotland’ – well, that went well didn’t it!

"This leader of the Labour party makes weakness and indecision an art form. He has completely united his party, every single one of them has asked Santa for the same thing – a new leader for Christmas."

12.10 The Prime Minister defends his deputy and insists there is no split in the Coalition, and also hits out at the Labour leader's relationship with his brother.

"No one in this house is going to be surprised that Conservatives and Liberal Democrats don’t always agree about Europe but let me reassure him he shouldn’t believe everything he reads in the papers. It’s not that bad, it’s not like we’re brothers or anything!"

Mr Miliband says that he feels sorry for Mr Clegg.

"I think our sympathy is with the Deputy PM. His partner goes on a business trip, he hears nothing until a rambling phone call at 4am confessing to a big mistake. In the cold light of day, isn’t the sensible thing for him to do to re-enter the negotiations and try and get a better deal for Britain."

12.08 Mr Miliband says it is "good to see the Deputy Prime Minister" back in the Commons, poking at his absence earlier in the week. Mr Clegg now looks rather sad as he gets attacked by Labour.

12.05 Mr Miliband accuses the Prime Minister of "breaking his promise", and points towards youth unemployment figures, saying the Government is "betraying a generation of young people".

“I think the whole House will have heard that the central economic claim that he made has not been met. He has broken his promise!”

Mr Miliband also noted that youth unemployment had gone up by 93% since he made his new year pledge on jobs.

12.03 Ed Miliband takes to his feet for the first time, and pays tribute to the UK's armed forces. He then recalled the Prime Minister’s 2011 New Year message: “Uppermost in my mind is jobs”. Mr Miliband asked him to explain what had gone wrong.

Mr Cameron says that "any increase in unemployment is bad news" and outlines the Government's plans to create jobs.

"Any increase in unemployment is bad news and a tragedy for those involved and that is why we will do everything we can to get people back into work. Since the election there have been, in the private sector there have been 58100 extra jobs, in the public sector he is right, we have lost 336,000 jobs.

"We won't take lectures form a party that put up youth unemployment by 40%, that is the case even his brother admitted the other day that youth unemployment was not a problem invented by this government. It’s gone up since 2004."

12.02 Conservative Richard Fuller asks the first question about the FSA report into the RBS collapse, saying there was no reference to punishment for those involved.

Mr Cameron says the Government is "looking at extra measures" at what those on the RBS board did, and adds the report was damning to those politicians responsible.

"It wasn’t just damning in terms of the people on the board of RBS, it was also damning about the politicians who were responsible for regulating RBS. It didn’t just name politicians no longer serving, it also named the Shadow Chancellor!"

12.00 And we're off. The Prime Minister gets things going with tributes to a soldier who died in Afghanistan.

11.58 David Cameron has taken his seat as well. MPs already seem quite rowdy at the end of Cabinet Office Questions so we could be looking at a spicy half hour.

11.57 Nick Clegg has taken his seat in on the front bench, sharing a laugh with Oliver Letwin as he sits down.

11.55 The Chamber is now filling up as MPs take their seats for PMQs.