The effect was electrifying. A forest of order papers was waved and a mighty cheer went up - and that was just on the Labour side. Mr Portillo seemed cross at such baiting and gave a perfunctory and somewhat charmless reading of the oath of allegiance. Watching him and his leader side by side earlier, it was possible to see that the Hague cranium rises above Portillo's by half an inch. But by the time that luxuriant Portillo mane is taken into account the advantage is with the Castillian by at least two inches.
Appearances can be deceptive but in our televisual age they are telling nonetheless.