Strains of office
It was a world weary Nick Clegg who appeared before the this morning. There were no "gotcha" moments or dramatic clashes, but there were a couple of occasions when the deputy prime minister's mask slipped - revealingly.
Asked by the Tory constitutionalist, Lord Norton, if his constitutional reforms - to the voting system, to the Lords, to parliamentary terms - would promote good governance, he responded:
"I think in terms of good governance you're talking about a government which can get on and do difficult things and, heaven knows, I know about doing difficult things, this week above all weeks..."
It sounds as if the process of compromise on student financing - and never forget how many Lib Dem MPs, Mr Clegg included, represent university seats - has taken its toll. As he uttered those words, he sounded absolutely exhausted.
I'm Mark D'Arcy and I'll be writing about what goes on in the chambers and committee rooms at Westminster.
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