Jeremy Corbyn challenged Theresa May over the NHS at PMQs today – but we still have no idea how she will tackle the crisis

Jeremy Corbyn stood for Prime Minister’s Questions aware of the rumours and whispers circulating throughout Westminster concerning his position as the Leader of the Labour Party. After reports that the Leader of the Opposition had agreed a “departure date” with his inner circle, Corbyn’s solid performance against a dithering Prime Minister sent a clear message to those goading him: for now, at least, he’s staying put.

Though such reports fuel the spirits of political gossips, it was the substance of today’s proceedings that demonstrated the difference between a hard-right Tory government that sides with the likes of Donald Trump and a Labour party proposing a progressive alternative.

In a week when the Government has sought to direct attention away from the crisis in the NHS to the threat of health tourism (which actually costs the health service very little), Theresa May’s praise of NHS staff will fall on deaf ears. As Corbyn protested: “Congratulating NHS staff is one thing; paying them properly is another.”

Though the Tory benches attempted to drown out the Opposition leader, the Prime Minister had no answers on the growing crisis within our hospitals. But May could not be saved by her barracking backbenchers. Leaked text messages appear to suggest that the Government has offered a “sweetheart” deal to Surrey Council, which had planned to hold a local referendum over a proposal to raise council tax by 15 per cent to deal with the rising burden of social care budgets. Having caught the PM by surprise, Corbyn continued on his line of questioning to highlight the Government’s increasingly poor management of the NHS.

Corbyn’s new style challenged the Prime Minister. Her attempt at humour to diffuse the situation fell flat. Whoever advised her to reference Kelly-Anne Conway’s infamous “alternative facts” just days after she was snapped walking hand-in-hand with the controversial new President, is deeply misguided over public attitudes to Trump and his approach here in Britain.

For all May’s bluster and rhetoric, today she appeared flat and uninspiring. Corbyn was forced to ask three times whether the deal offered in Surrey would be made available to all local authorities looking for new solutions to the care crisis, and each time the Prime Minister appeared unable to think on her feet. She responded with the same tired spin about the state of the NHS in Wales.

The Labour leader has exposed an important weakness in May's domestic policy and was right to focus on the NHS. The issue may be easy fodder for a Labour leader, but it raises the important question of where extra funding is for local hospitals and care service providers for all voters.

The apparent willingness of the Government to offer extra cash in their stronghold constituencies smacks of establishment politics, and stands at odds with the British values of fairness and equality – values May spoke of herself during her first moments as Prime Minister. Her failure to answer Corbyn's questions with anything other than platitudes is damning for a Conservative attempting to shake off the reputation of being a party of the few, not the many.