Andrew Gimson’s PMQs sketch: Positively the final performance of the Westminster pantomime with its present cast

The Speaker is retiring, so is the Father of the House, but the Prime Minister looks confident of getting several encores.

The programme motion falls by 322 votes to 308

The Prime Minister falls 14 votes short – and says that the Bill will be paused while he speaks to EU leaders.

Withdrawal Bill, Second Reading. The Government wins by 30 votes.

It’s a surprisingly large Government majority: 24 independents and 19 Labour MPs voted with the Government.

Meet Johnson’s most powerful ally – Varadkar

If a UK-EU deal is agreed, it will be because both men want one urgently – which in turn opens a chance to reset Anglo-Irish relations.

Why resignation may be the least bad option for Johnson

Yesterday’s Downing Street briefing and the plight of the Brexit talks suggest that he will ultimately settle for extension. That could be fatal – not least for him.

Johnson has lost a battle – and room for manoeuvre. But he can still win the war.

Despite the Supreme Court ruling, he still has a fighting chance of gaining an election – and then winning it.

The plan to force a second referendum, and the prospect of party realignment

When Letwin and Watson are on the same page, we should all study the book very carefully.

Jonathan Clark: Brexit. Is democracy at risk?

Two different conceptions of it are widely held in the UK, representative and direct. In 2019, they collide.

Andrew Gimson’s Commons sketch: A strange and ominous day in the Palace of Westminster

Clarke delivered an attack which recalled Howe’s on Thatcher.

Andrew Gimson’s Commons sketch: Disraeli Johnson inflicts deep pain on serious-minded people

But there is method in his madness.

I’m a GNU. How do you do?

MPs are more likely to try other means of stopping a No Deal Brexit than holding a no confidence vote in Johnson’s Government.

A Government of national unity is a non-starter – even if its seven prospective leaders take one day of the week each

Their real aim is to overturn the referendum result, wreck Brexit and destroy the Government we actually have.

Opposition Day Brexit motion. The ten Tory MPs who voted with Labour. The eight Labour MPs who voted with the Tories.

The Government won by 11 votes, 298 to 309, in a setback for Letwin – though the result doesn’t guarantee No Deal any more than a vote the other way would barred it.

Corbyn will win if today’s Commons motion is passed. And Tory leadership candidates know it.

Gove, Stewart and perhaps others too could see their standing and prospects damaged this afternoon.

Andrew Gimson’s leadership sketch: Stewart is the star of the show

He reproached the advocates of no deal for telling a fairy tale.