Malmesbury puts his case very eloquently, but in my experience it's not quite as sharp-edged as that. MPs do have a degree of influence in Ministerial decisions, if only in the sense that the Mi… (View Post)

I don't see why not. The test is whether a spouse uses their position to influence policy in a way helpful to them or to the Minister. Failing that, I don't really care what spouses think o… (View Post)

She's quietly helpful on environmental and animal welfare issues too. On Taz's point, the "funding" seems to have been subsidised trips to Israel to to politicians there, which is… (View Post)

Personally I know nothing about these cases and have barely been following them. But a wider point here is that it's very tempting as an MP to appoint your staff from longstanding friends and re… (View Post)

When running from a bear, you don't have to be fast, merely faster than someone else. People are worried about the possibility of another 5 years of the current shambles. They don't need to… (View Post)