So – they got it

But only by a scrape. Gordon Brown and Jacqui Smith won their commons vote on the reserve power to extend terror suspects’ detention up to 42 days. They got the votes of a few vital Labour backbenchers and of the DUP – at what cost? I expect announcements in the next few weeks about water charges in Northern Ireland and compensation for mesothelioma.

And now? The Counter-Terrorism Bill passes to the Lords, of course – where I expect it to be defeated. A fair number of Tory Lords will be sympathetic to the government, but I think they’ll be very disciplined, conscious that from a party political view they’d be mad not to strike against the government if they can. The LibDems will have a clear line (unlike in the Lisbon Treaty debate yesterday when they voted against a referendum – their counterparts in the Commons having abstained), and Labour dissenters will be less subject to pressure. And because the actual debate matters a little more than in the Commons, I think many will be persuaded by, for instance, Lords Goldsmith and Falconer.