IT should have been so easy.

After the less than brilliant Labour conference and that deficit-omitting speech from you know who plus news of Britain's unemployment figures dipping below 2m, Dave could not miss the open goal presented to him; could he?

Sitting bold as brass on the front backbench pews was the hero/villain of Clacton, Ukipper Douglas Carswell.

As imaginary daggers were being thrown in his direction from his ex-colleagues among the Conservative clan, up popped Tory MP Stewart Jackson to ask if Dave agreed with at least one opposition MP, who had previously insisted the only way to get an EU referendum was to vote Conservative.

After a loud cheer, the bespectacled PM replied: "I can't think who my honourable friend is referring to" and added the only way to get change, renegotiation and a referendum was to vote Conservative. The Ukipper gave a big smirk.

Before Red Ed began his weekly onslaught he had to apologise for his croaky voice, down to a sore throat. Dave, initially sounding sympathetic, then could not resist a poke, saying: "If he does get a doctor's appointment, we hope he doesn't forget it." The Tory toff continued his Mr Memory attack by insisting that while his promised £7bn tax cuts were as yet unfunded, the UK Government had a track record of delivering tax cuts because "we remembered something important; you have to cut the deficit".

But Ed had a cudgel up his sleeve courtesy of a secret recording at a fringe meeting at the recent Tory conference that exposed the stupid remarks of Lord Freud, the Welfare Minister, about disabled people not being worth the minimum wage.

As the comrades shouted shame and outrageous, the PM seemed thrown and insisted this was not his view or that of anyone else in his government. Dave rambled on about wanting a real-terms increase in the minimum wage but the damage was done.

Ed had some more killer quotes from the peer referring to people working for "£2 an hour".

As the volume rose from the Opposition benches, so too did the Tory toff's voice when he barked: "I don't need lectures from anyone about looking after disabled people."

But Ed had drawn blood and insisted in the dog-days of this parliament, the Tories were reverting to basic instincts. "The nasty party is back," he roared.

Fasten your safety belts, it's going to be a bumpy election campaign.