There were two prime ministerial performances in the House of Commons on Monday, but neither of them were delivered by Liz Truss.
The first, by House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt, reminded Tories of what it is to have a leader who can command the chamber. When she assured MPs that the prime minister was not “hiding under a desk”, the Commons burst into laughter.
Backbench Tories tried to hold back their grins, all too aware that it was their own government being humiliated. The assured performance by Mordaunt, who was standing in for Truss on an urgent question about why the previous chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng had been sacked, gave Tories a hint of what might lie ahead if Truss is forced out.