Sketch: May will look forward to Wednesday lunchtimes

Faced with an opponent heavily briefed with all the answers, determined not to provide any of them and guaranteed to have the last word, the deck is heavily stacked against whoever is asking the questions.

But the arrival of a new PM, still coming to terms with the sheer vastness of the brief, the Trident nuclear codes and remembering to feed Downing St cat Larry, presents a rare opportunity to land a blow.

Except if the Leader of the Opposition is Jeremy Corbyn and the new PM is Theresa May.

Mrs May gives the impression that she only breathes in after giving the matter careful consideration and as for exhaling, well that too requires serious thought.

So there was no chance she would arrive in the Commons poorly prepared and she demonstrated both her grasp of policy and, far more importantly, her ability to not answer the question.

The timetable for the Heathrow runway decision, Britain’s approach to the Brexit talks, the prospect of an Orgreave inquiry, public spending plans, primary education reforms, the suitability of Boris Johnson to be Foreign Secretary were just some of the questions asked and all avoided.

Presumably in the spirit of ‘kinder, gentler politics’ Mr Corbyn decided to help the newcomer along by raising job insecurity, opening the door for an easy jibe from Mrs May about his own precarious position as Labour backbenchers variously put their heads in their hands, stared at their phones or gazed at the ceiling, presumably wishing it would fall in.

Far from dreading Wednesday lunchtimes, Mrs May could come to see them as the best part of her week.