Ceasing Fire on Ceasefire: The Readout With Allegra Stratton

Today saw the first PMQs since last week’s showdown over the Gaza ceasefire vote. And there are signs of a new unsettling era — not only do MPs on all sides fear for their safety (both Conservative and Labour politicians have been given bodyguards) but the Speaker also changed parliamentary procedure because of it.

That something has shifted was perhaps reflected in how noisy today’s session was — normally as the Commons gets rowdier, Speaker Lindsay Hoyle takes great pleasure in getting shoutier. But there was relatively little calling to order today by a man who may sit up high in the big Speaker’s chair but now appears unsure of his place. A cowed Hoyle would once have been a relatively unthinkable thing. A disorderly chamber is an undesirable thing, too.