THE question being asked last night after the dust settled on David Cameron's strategic retreat was: Is this a disaster averted or a disaster delayed?

Certainly, given the scale of the rebellion – more than 100 Tories – the Prime Minister and his deputy will have their work cut out to satisfy enough MPs on the issue of debating time. Ten days was not enough, so will 20 or even 30 suffice?

The rebels may now be so emboldened they feel they can kill the Bill completely.

For Nick Clegg, Lords reform is the last Liberal Democrat constitutional totem that remains; Europe is dead, as is PR, with the disaster that was the AV referendum.

What last night's U-turn also signified was more poisoning of the Lib-Con well. Of course, given Mr Cameron famously said before the election that Lords reform was a "third term priority" for the Conservatives, there is a Machiavellian theory that he told his whips not to try too hard to win over the rebels.

It could well be that the latest attempt to reform the gilded chamber at Westminster will fail, like so many others have done before.

And it may be that while Mr Clegg cries into his pillow, Mr Cameron will, privately, be puffing on his cigar.