By the end, an element of willed indignation could be detected in some of the accusations levelled against him.
The Prime Minister’s manner was robust. His position is not yet robust, which means the Commons is more powerful.
Almost a fifth of respondents protested by either abstaining or writing in for Johnson.
“That’s pretty fundamental”, says the leader of the Covid Recovery Group.
Fifty-three Conservatives opposed the tiering plan last December, the largest Covid-related rebellion to date.
The Chairman of the Covid Recovery Group is concerned that data which might have supported reopening went unpublished.
Most of the action has been over Covid-related divisions. And most of the dissenters are from older intakes.
The most important question today isn’t whether the Government’s plan is right or wrong, but how decisions should be made about it.
Yesterday’s backbench reaction to his Commons statement suggests that most Tory MPs will back his proposals.
The Prime Minister seems to be mulling some school re-openings pre-Easter. But how long will it last and who can really be sure?
The OBR’s horrid forecasts of an output implosion and soaring unemployment will do nothing to quell Tory resistance to tougher Covid tiers.
Growing anti-lockdown sentiment among northern Labour mayors and councils offer him new opportunities – and dangers.
From calling the measures “dystopian”, to criticising Whitty and Vallance’s latest graph, there were some scathing speeches.
I just can’t feel comfortable with these proposals – let alone summon the will to go out and try to convince voters of them.