����ý

On Wednesday night, MPs did vote to tighten up the rules on what they are allowed to do to earn money on the side.

Or, at least, that when there are precise proposals, they will make decisions on it, at some not entirely precise date in the future...

No 10 hopes that it will be the end - or at least the beginning of the end - of the self-inflicted fortnight of bad headlines and claims of sleaze that have come, day after day after day.

And, with that, allow the government to move on to make noise about what they are trying to get done, rather than the things that are going wrong.

Will they get their way?

Straightforwardly, the new rules for MPs won't be settled until early next year, so in the simplest of terms, this heated argument is not at an end - even though the prime minister did finally concede that the rules ought to be updated.

The side effect of all the rows, however, has been a knock to his authority.

Sure, MPs love almost nothing more than having a big hullaballoo about themselves, but there is no question that with a slip in the polls, public dissent from MPs, and some Tories choosing to stay away from the green benches in the last few days, Boris Johnson's standing has been dented by all the fuss, and by his own miscalculation.

What isn't clear though is whether or not that lasts.

Opposition MPs chatter excitedly about the public mood turning against him.

Let's face it, as one senior MP suggested, there are also plenty of people in the Conservative Party who have always wished him ill, on the hunt for evidence that their original belief he was the wrong person for the job was correct.

'He needs a Lemsip'

The last few days have featured lots of eye rolling, and hopeful huffing and puffing from people in that camp.

What's more interesting to ponder though is whether the mood of those who have backed him is on the move.

After his appearance in front of his own MPs on Wednesday night, one of those supporters told me that he "looked weak, and sounded weak", suggesting his authority has started to seep away.

Another who backed him in the leadership campaign said the meeting with backbenchers had been "very flat", and there was "hostile questioning from all factions".

There were, of course, more loyal reports out of the room.

One more diplomatic version was "he needs a Lemsip", while another said the PM had been "excellent".

But one former minister and friend of the PM's suggested a few days ago, in sorrow not in anger, that their view was Boris Johnson had passed the peak of his powers.

'Big dipper'

There has been a shift in that mood, and the support is shakier. But frankly, it's far, far too early to conclude anything after this torrid fortnight.

There are plenty of MPs who know when they look in the mirror, that a big part of the reason they won their seat was who was in charge in December 2019.

And of course, Boris Johnson's political career has tracked the highs and lows of the Big Dipper.

It would be foolish for any of his colleagues, or any opposition parties to draw any firm conclusions.

Yet with a difficult autumn ahead - with inflation, possible rises in interest rates and tax rises coming in April - lasting grumpiness on the green benches and the sniff of sleaze in the air makes an atmosphere that the prime minister can ill afford.