IT was spooky. If you closed your eyes, you would have sworn the person at the Commons despatch box was none other than Margaret Thatcher.

Maggie May’s first appearance at PMQs was, from Labour’s point of view, frighteningly assured.

The public gallery was packed as the shiny, new premier entered the chamber to a loud Conservative roar.

If anyone thought that Mother Theresa would adopt a softer, gentler approach to Jezza, their misapprehension was dismissed early on when the PM sought to embarrass the chief comrade by thanking “those 140 Labour MPs, who put the national interest first and voted to renew the nuclear deterrent".

As she "enthusiastically" welcomed Monday night’s result, the SNP champion Angus Robertson – whose entire cohort of loyal followers opposed renewing Trident – slowly shook his head.

Just to add injury to insult for the hairy Leftie, Labour backbencher Jamie Reed rose to thank the PM “for your wholehearted support and endorsement for official Labour Party policy on Trident; it's such a refreshing change to hear that from the despatch box". You could have cut the irony with a knife.

But as Jezza rose to put Maggie May to the political sword, all he appeared to have in his hand was a feather duster.

Of all the subjects Mr C could have opened up Mrs M’s first PMQs with, the one he chose was, er, not what was expected. Brexit perhaps? The economy? Or the NHS? Or possibly defence? No. The Labour chief chose to put the PM on the spot over - Orgreave.

Eyes rolling in Labour heads could be heard metres away.

The most poignant Thatcher moment came when the PM rebuked Jezza over his attack on the Government’s six years of austerity, declaring: “He talks about austerity; I call it living within our means!”

When Jezza rose to attack the government over people’s job insecurity, the Tory berserkers barracked him as if to say he should know, given what is happening in the Labour Party at the moment. The chief comrade got tetchy and barked back: “I’m talking of the people who sent us here to serve them!”

But Maggie May had a final dig and leaning, Thatcher-like, on the despatch box, she delivered the most telling putdown of all when she referred to job insecurity and workers being exploited by unscrupulous bosses.

“I suspect there are many members on the opposition benches, who might be familiar with an unscrupulous boss. A boss who doesn’t listen to his workers, a boss who requires some of his workers to double their workload and maybe a boss who exploits the rules to further his own career. Remind him of anybody?"

As the Tories roared for more at the end of PMQs, it might just be possible that the morphed photo of Mrs M wearing Mrs T’s hair will already be rolling off the printing presses at Labour HQ.