Scandal was the talk of Prime Minister's Questions yesterday.

Scandal, scandal and more scandal.

There was even a reference to the dropping of pants. All right, that was entirely above board and linked to a campaign to boost cancer diagnosis. That old excuse.

Neither the PM nor the leader of the Opposition seemed able to do anything other than make scandal accusations.

Lots of Labour MPs' questions appeared to strangle in their throats. Many barely managed to finish their sentence. But it did not matter. All they had to do was eventually mutter the name "Lynton Crosby" and they were met with huge cheers from their own side and large boos from the opposition.

Not to be outdone, Cameron mentioned in quick succession previous Labour lobbying scandals and even the awkward time the party's former leader was questioned by police over loans for peerages.

For his part, the Prime Minister could not understand why Labour did not get it, emphasising his exasperation by dramatically slapping down the sheaf of notes he carries during PMQs.

We pay Mr Crosby, he kept saying, he does not pay us. He can't have lobbied us over plain packaging for cigarettes, Mr Cameron appeared to be saying. We would have known about it.

The reassurances were not enough for Ed Miliband who dubbed him the Prime Minister for "Benson and hedge funds".

All this of course is to suggest that PMQs is a battle of words between the PM and the leader of the opposition. It is not. It is a battle of wits between the PM and Ed Balls.

The Conservative leader clearly thought he was winning yesterday. He reportedly even winked at Mr Balls at one point. Unfortunately this came just moments after he suggested that the Labour leader sack his shadow chancellor.

Heckling from the front bench Mr Balls seized on the Prime Minister's comment that perhaps he did not have to pay the Australian lobbyist to help him defeat Labour after all.

"If you don't need him send him back then," Mr Balls shouted, a dangerous territory for politicians to get into.

After all, there are some who would like to send them all off somewhere. Not quite as pleasant as Down Under either.