Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May rarely agree with each other.

Yet today both party leaders seemed to unite over an unspoken understanding: they would both go the entirety of PMQs without mentioning the turbulence currently rippling through Westminster.

Amid simmering tensions over leadership, Brexit and antisemitism claims, Mr Corbyn and Mrs May avoided a tit-for-tat argument over whose party is more in crisis by choosing to avoid the subject entirely.

Instead PMQs pressed on with a damp squib squabble over Brexit, leaving an elephant in the room and palpable tension on the back benches.

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Jeremy Corbyn accused Mrs May of "pretending to negotiate" as she insisted her priority was "finding a solution" to the controversial Irish backstop.

He asked exactly what Mrs May hoped to achieve by travelling to Brussels, with the Prime Minister’s response being the verbal equivalent of a tumbleweed.

Mr Corbyn pressed on, raising the concerns of manufacturers over the government’s refusal to take no deal off the table. 

The Herald:

Mrs May dodged accusations that she was trying to leave without a deal, and repeated that the best way to avoid a no-deal Brexit is to vote for the deal on the table.

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford waded in, accusing Westminster of "being at war with itself" and telling the Prime Minister: "If you don't act, Scotland will."

But the process felt frustratingly familiar as both leaders failed to ignore the 11 MPs who have quit their respective parties to stand as independents. 

The only mention of recent resignations came as Mrs May acknowledged Brighton Labour councillor Anne Meadows, who quit Labour to join the Tories, citing months of bullying and antisemitism.

Read more: Jeremy Corbyn brushes off calls for change to his leadership as Labour embroiled in fresh anti-Semitism row

She said: "That’s the harsh reality that decent moderate Labour councillors are having to face everyday, due to Jeremy Corbyn’s failure to stand up to bullying and racism in his party.

"We will welcome her with open arms into the Conservative party. I’m sure she will be an excellent Conservative councillor."

While Mrs May finished strongly – telling how Labour had made "Derek Hatton a hero and Churchhill a villain" and saying "Attlee and Bevin would be spinning in their graves" – it would be hard to pick a victor from today’s clash.

Scratch beneath the surface and there are two party leaders refusing to acknowledge crisis in their ranks. Refusing to acknowledge the fact that the UK’s exit from the EU is only 37 days away.

There are two party leaders refusing to lead.­