What Conservative MPs told us about the lockdown’s future. The consensus is for a gradual easing.

But there is no simple split between the Left and Right of the Party, and no sense of rebellion, at least yet.

Bernard Jenkin: Keeping or junking the shutdown won’t work. But the alternative requires a transformation unparalleled since the war.

Parliament’s role must be to encourage strategic thinking, raise reasonable questions and help the government avoid strategic errors.

Iain Dale: Starmer makes a good start. Now, just remind me. His predecessor was Jeremy…who?

Plus: Scam PPE offers. Johnson’s very real illness. And: I’m wondering about the rest of his body. (My dog’s, not my partner’s.)

Andrew Gimson’s Commons sketch: The new Opposition leader begins, in a quiet way, to set the agenda

The new Leader of the Opposition looked more at ease than the First Secretary of State, Dominic Raab, standing in for Boris Johnson.

Over a billion PPE items isn’t “shambolic”. The Deputy Chief Medical Officer was right. We need a more adult conversation about PPE.

From medical equipment, to herd immunity, to data collection, everything has been reduced and given no nuance.

Mark Harper: We can’t continue the current lockdown while waiting for a vaccine – and need a recovery plan to get out of it.

We will need to significantly and rapidly increase our testing capability and our ability to link this to a contact tracing system.

Andy Street: NHS staff have invoked the Blitz spirit during these times. They must be rewarded for their gallantry.

As Lord Ashcroft wrote recently for ConservativeHome, the George Cross would be the best way to honour our heroes.

Caroline Elsom: We calculate the astronomical cost of the virus as double the sum spent each year on healthcare

As in 2008, the line between survival and disaster will rest on the bond markets’ trust in the British Government and on the reputation of the Bank of England.

Johnson, the Sunday Times and the virus. The Remainer losers have learnt nothing from the EU referendum and last year’s election.

It may be significant that the one person who doesn’t seem to be making their mistake is Keir Starmer.

Liam Fox: League tables, death rates, bed numbers – and other mistaken media measurements. Let’s stick to the facts.

Often, these are not only hugely inaccurate, but paint a damagingly distorted picture which can influence public opinion and, through doing so, public policy.

Neil O’Brien: Salvaging the economy. Could we just live with more borrowing for a bit? Maybe, maybe not.

Hopefully it will be crisis averted, and we’ll have a bit more time to fix the hole. But sooner or later, difficult choices on tax and spending are coming.

WATCH: Government is “working as fast as we can” to put testing in place for NHS workers

“We will over the next few weeks be in a position to increase the number of our tests, we will have 100,000 tests being conducted by the end of this month.”

We hope and expect Johnson will be back by May 8. But if he isn’t, Raab must lead in easing the lockdown.

The art will be to do so in such a way that the NHS can cope with a rise in admissions. And social distancing for the most vulnerable must remain in place.

How Johnson, by at last making National Insurance a reality, could become the second founder of the NHS

In order to render the NHS proof against future pandemics, and resolve the social care crisis, he needs to learn from Beveridge.

The longer the lockdown lasts, the bigger Sunak’s bazooka will be

We don’t expect the shutdown to last in full until summer.  But if it did, Britain might well be moving towards Universal Credit as a basic income.