The Commons at its best

Yesterday saw the House of Commons suspend business after where PMQs should have been, and that event was itself replaced by statements by Gordon Brown, William Hague and Vince Cable expressing condolences to David and Samantha Cameron on the death of their son Ivan.

As others have noted, this was the Commons at its best. None of the usual "honourable gentlemen" or "the member for" rubbish. A House that was, to a man and a woman, silent, respectful and filled with sorrow.

So often politics is pilliored for being out of touch with the public mood. Yesterday emphasised that MPs are people too - with their own families - and that when one of their own suffered a loss they surrounded him with kindness.

I echo sentiments elsewhere. The Camerons should be allowed to deal with their personal tragedy outwith the glare of the public eye - and for as long as they need.