Isabel Hardman

At one point in today’s Prime Minister’s Questions, the Speaker called MPs to order and told them: ‘We’ve got to get through Prime Minister’s Questions.’ This was an instruction to backbenchers who were shouting at one another across the chamber. But it sounded like an ambitious goal for Boris Johnson. He barely got through the truly brutal, angry session. He barely got through the truly brutal, angry session Sir Keir Starmer led on the allegations of sexual assault against Chris Pincher, and on why the Prime Minister had made him deputy chief whip when he knew about Pincher’s behaviour. His questions and lines were strong, Johnson’s were exhausted and irrelevant.

Steve Barclay is the new Health Secretary. This is a fascinating move for both political and policy reasons. The first is that it is an admission by the Prime Minister that his current Downing Street operation is not working: Barclay was the chief of staff brought in to 'get a grip', and there has manifestly not been much of that. The second is that Barclay is, to put it mildly, a hawk on health spending. He was a Health Minister before becoming Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and formed an extremely sceptical view of the health service and its ability to waste money while in that position.

Keir Starmer is delivering his latest instalment of Things Labour Would Just Do Better. In a speech to the Centre for European Reform this evening, the Labour leader is complaining that the government 'have missed Brexit opportunities time and time again'. He will also set out his party's 'five point plan to make Brexit work'. His memorable lines are that Brexit has become the 'wet wipe island' that was found in the Thames and that Labour will 'break that barrier down' - which frankly sounds like a disgusting job for anyone to do. Now, all of this initially seems to run along the general theme of Labour's policymaking, which is to hope that saying you wouldn't make the same mistakes as the government is a sufficient substitute for an actual policy position.

In the last few minutes, Chris Pincher has had the Conservative whip suspended after he resigned this morning over allegations he groped two men earlier this week. The Tory chief whip has announced that the former deputy chief whip will now lose the whip while an investigation into his behaviour takes place. A spokesman said:  Having heard that a formal complaint has been made to the ICGS [the Independent Complaints and Grievence Scheme], the Prime Minister has agreed with the Chief Whip that the whip should be suspended from Chris Pincher while the investigation is ongoing. We will not prejudge that investigation.

The stand-in PMQs today between Dominic Raab and Angela Rayner was more action-packed than it usually is. Raab, who is not famed for his sense of humour, came with a range of jokes that he was clearly quite pleased with. He even preceded his favourite one, a jab at Rayner for having the temerity to go to Glyndebourne and drink champagne, with a wink across the Chamber at her. One reason why PMQs was more interesting than usual is that both party deputies are becoming increasingly prominent He said: 'She talks about working people. Where was she when the comrades were on the picket line last Thursday? Where was she when the Labour frontbenchers were joining them rather than standing up for the public? She was at the Glyndebourne music festival sipping champagne, listening to opera.