But that all changed with the publication of the EU-UK withdrawal agreement on Wednesday evening. Conservative former chancellor Ken Clarke described the ensuing day as the most dramatic he had seen in Parliament in nearly half a century as an MP.
With ministers dropping like flies in the morning, the business and energy secretary deserves much credit just for turning up to make the speech – although it might have felt like light relief compared with what was going on in the Commons.
And he had an important message to deliver: the energy “trilemma” is dead. A reduction in the cost of renewable energy means that Clark insisted the energy system can go green without breaking the bank. It’s a shame that the wider public didn’t hear the message amid the Brexit furore.
The obvious follow-on would be that the government should lift the hurdles stopping the rollout of onshore wind, calculated to now be the cheapest source of energy.
It is probably not worth Clark picking a fight on this issue at such a sensitive political moment. Expect to see little, if any, movement on this issue until the Brexit withdrawal saga concludes in December. The energy white paper, which Clark promised will be published next year, offers an opportunity to face it head-on.