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Hello, I'm Sean Curran, and this is yesterday in Parliament from BBC Radio 4.

Zakia Stama missed this week's Prime Minister's questions on Wednesday, the 28th of January,

as he headed to China, hoping to thaw diplomatic relations. But there was still a chill

in the Commons. There's a familiar pattern to Wednesdays at Westminster. Just before noon, MPs start

to arrive in the Commons Chamber, and before long, the Green Benches are full. But some well-known

faces were missing yesterday. We don't come to questions to the Deputy Prime Minister.

Sakea Starmer's absence meant other party leaders stayed away.

The Conservative Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith stood in for Kemi Badernock,

and he'd come equipped with some scripted digs at the Deputy Prime Minister David Lamy.

You can feel the Deputy Prime Minister's frustration.

The Prime Minister's away.

The business sector is away and here he is left behind Lamy, the designated survivor,

having to defend the indefensible.

And he was keen to talk about tensions in the Labour ranks.

This government is blocking people who just want to get on in life.

People, Mr Speaker, ambitious people like Andy from Manchester, having his dreams crushed by Labour.

But David Lammy was just as enthusiastic about poking at a conservative bruise.

26 Tory MPs and counting have already defected to reform, and now they're all counting down,

Mr Speaker, because today is 100 days until the Tory transfer window slam shut.

It's going to be the longest and most disloyal transfer saga since Sol Campbell

left Spurbs. And the member for Clacton, I don't know where he is, has signed three white

...