This was about as classy – and expensive – as love-ins get.

David Cameron flew in from London, though he was coming to Brisbane anyway for that massive jamboree, the G20. MPs and senators jetted in from all over the country, though there were quite a few empty seats in the chamber. Some apparently had more pressing engagements.

Distinguished guests were rounded up, including 19 Battle of Britain vets.

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And all for about 40 minutes of Britain and Australia declaring eternal love at a joint sitting of federal parliament.

It could have been a wedding reception, minus the double entendres.

It was, however, done with great style and some wit and presumably will help stop the relationship drifting into benign neglect.

The British PM is an interesting bloke. A toff who behaved badly at Oxford, he’s almost the Hooray Henry caricature of the British upper crust familiar to Australians.

But he’s a toff with brains, getting a good First at Oxford despite the drinking; and a toff who’s tough. You don’t become a British PM if you’re a wimp.

Moreover, he’s been tempered by the awful sadness of the death of his disabled first child.

David Cameron and Tony Abbott take in the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial. Photo: AAP

What we got on Friday was a very classy performance which said little beyond the obvious: he felt he was visiting family because the relationship was instinctively close.

Every chapter of Australia’s history was inspiring. There was the cheerful irreverence, the vibrant society, the can-do country.

There was much about the links through many wars, with Cameron recalling visiting Gallipoli as a young man and finding himself surrounded by Aussies and Kiwis.

He moved beyond compliments when he turned to Islamic extremism. The extremist narrative, he said, must be rooted out of the mosques and schools and Islam should be celebrated as the great religion of peace.

He was just as forthright about the “spectre of protectionism”.

“Let’s push for an EU-Australia (trade) deal,” he said, bringing a Tony Abbott smile.

Cameron also rejected the notion that the way forward economically was through the “new model of authoritarian capitalism”, presumably meaning China.

“Big ideas come from open societies,” he said.

Cameron was also up to date with Australia’s political lexicon, making a shirtfront joke involving Julie Bishop.

Abbott and Bill Shorten did their bit for the mutual admiration society, with a lot about the British heritage and familial ties.

There were the inevitable convict jokes and cricket references. Shorten went so far as to suggest that sledging reflects the depth of the relationship.

(It may be hazardous to explore this idea further when Indian PM Narendra Modi – the last performer in this season of joint sittings – comes next Tuesday.)

When the speeches were over Cameron spent almost half an hour meeting and greeting MPs, veterans and other distinguished personages.

You’d have thought he was gladhanding in Witney, his electorate back home.

He’s spent his adult life in politics or spin doctoring. It shows.

AAP