It’s always a strange feeling when the whole Commons laughs as one

It was the loudest cheer at PMQS in months. But it wasn’t for Jeremy Corbyn or Theresa May. It was for a Tory backbencher named Sir Desmond Swayne. And MPS weren’t cheering because of anything he’d said. They were cheering because he was awake. “HOOOOORAAAAAAAY!” chorused MPS. The member for New Forest West smiled bashfully, and made a gentle downward motion with his right hand, to encourage his audience to settle. But they went on cheering anyway.

Sir Desmond is the MP who on Tuesday afternoon was caught on camera, falling asleep during a speech by Ken Clarke on the horrors of Brexit.

Cynics assumed that Sir Desmond – an ardent Brexiteer – was faking it, to illustrate how thunderously bored he was by Mr Clarke. But, interviewed afterwards, Sir Desmond insisted that he really did drop off, and apologised.

Still, his little mishap didn’t seem to have lost him any friends in the chamber. The cheering blew the roof off. No chance of catching 40 winks in that racket.

“Orderrrrrr!” bellowed John Bercow, the Speaker. “The honourable gentleman is extremely alert! And I’m alert to what he’s got to say!” Finally the cheering died down, and Sir Desmond opened his mouth to speak. A particular issue, he began, had been keeping him awake at night. Once again, everyone cheered. The chamber was in the grip of a manic, bug-eyed, giggling hilarity, as if the place had been pumped with helium. Even Mr Clarke was chortling away, his cheeks beaming rosily.

It isn’t often that the whole Commons laughs as one, but when it does, it always feels quite strange. Everyone seems to be laughing just that little bit too hard. It’s difficult to tell whether they genuinely are overcome with mirth, or are on the verge of a collective nervous breakdown. At any moment you half-expect an obscure backbencher to burst into tears, fling his shoes at the gallery, and vault topless on to the dispatch box while swinging the mace around his head and screaming about his mother.

At last Sir Desmond resumed his question, which was about plastic packaging. He just about made himself heard, above the noise of Labour MPS pretending to snore.

PMQS, it so happened, was followed by another debate on Brexit. And one of the first speakers was Kenneth Clarke. “I’m glad to see [Sir Desmond] in his place behind me,” he began. “When he arrived I inquired whether he’d had a cup of coffee before today’s proceedings. I shall try not to be too soporific…” He then launched into his latest disquisition on the ills of Brexit.

After 20 minutes, Mr Clarke stopped speaking and sat down.

There was a moment of awkward silence while the House waited for the next MP to be called.

Abruptly Mr Bercow looked up. “Has the right honourable and learned gentleman finished speaking?” he asked. Don’t tell me he’d fallen asleep as well.