Now that we are properly back in Parliament, doing proper work, the change in mood is extraordinary.

Gone are the arguments over detail, gone are the endless angry emails, gone are the glum faces of MPs wrestling with their consciousness.

All the horrors of the last parliament have been replaced with a sense of optimism and purpose.

The first day’s work started the Withdrawal Agreement Bill through the committee stage.

Those who have been following with forensic detail the machinations of Brexit will remember that in the last parliament, the WAB passed its second reading, but failed with the programme motion – the bit of the bill that schedules the timetable of the passing of the bill through the system. The argument at the time was that the details are so complex it would take weeks to go through it all. Yet on the first day, with eight hours scheduled for the debate, we used just five.

I found myself chatting to a Labour MP after the votes. Had Labour not opposed the programme motion, I argued, we would have delivered Brexit, we would have avoided the general election, Labour wouldn’t have lost so many seats and they wouldn’t be embarking on a protracted leadership election.

I was told I was right on all but the leadership election. It is astonishing just how unpopular Jeremy Corbyn is with his own MPs.

Whilst Brexit is being delivered, the world woke up at the weekend in a more dangerous situation.

The assassination of General Qasem Soleimani by the US has certainly increased tensions in the Middle East.

There is no doubt about it: Soleimani was a decidedly unpleasant and influential individual.

He is responsible for many deaths amongst US and UK citizens and that he is now out of circulation a good thing. But where I am concerned is that of the international rules based order.

We in the West – and particularly in the UK – are enthusiastic advocates of the rules based order.

Indeed, we are particularly keen that all countries abide by it, including Iran. But in insisting that others abide by it, we must not only uphold it ourselves, but be seen to be setting an example.

So, for me, the question of whether the US attack was legal is absolutely crucial.

If we in the West fail to uphold the law, how can we expect other nations to do likewise.