Witty repartee still features in Parliament. But does it persuade anymore?

Night had fallen when Sarah Jones rose from the green-upholstered bench in the House of Commons. Ms. Jones, the member of Parliament for Croydon, noted the late hour and what Oliver Cromwell had said in 1653 on dissolving the so-called Long Parliament.

“You have sat here too long for any good you are doing,” she quoted.

A baritone chuckle erupted from the opposite bench.

Ms. Jones smiled. “Nevertheless we carry on,” she said.

She then used her allotted seven minutes on the third day of the Brexit debate to lambast the failures of the Brexit agreement and the failure