As MPs reconvened in Westminster on 16 December 2019, there was much talk about the altered feel of the House of Commons. It used to be that as you walked through Central Lobby, if you heard a northern accent you could be reasonably sure you were overhearing a Labour MP. Not anymore. On the Lib Dem side: no Jo Swinson, no Chuka Umunna, no Vince Cable. Without Nigel Dodds, the DUP looked mysteriously rudderless. It all suggests that history moves very quickly: it’s as if at a general election one set of arguments is assented to forever, and another utterly rejected. But during the run-up to Christmas in Westminster, there was a temptation to pause and think about another absence. That was Kenneth Clarke, the former Father of the House of Commons – no longer taking his familiar seat for the first time in 50 years. Clarke’s absence was felt particularly since it opened up onto others in the Tory ranks: former justice secretary David Gauke had left the house after losing South West Hertfor...