Meanwhile, somewhere else in Westminster, appointments are made...

The Prime Minister has today announced the names of three new political members of the independent House of Lords Appointments Commission.

The new members, nominated by the three main political parties, are:

• Lord Hart of Chilton (Labour)
• Rt. Hon. Lord Howard of Lympne QC (Conservative) and
• Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat)

The Chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, Lord Jay said:

"The balance of political and independent members is an important feature of the House of Lords Appointments Commission and I am delighted that we will have three new political members with such experience. I look forward to working with them.

I would also like to pay tribute to their predecessors - Baroness Dean of Thornton-Le-Fylde, Lord Hurd of Westwell and Lord Dholakia - who served on the Commission since its creation in 2000. Their knowledge and understanding has been invaluable and I would like to thank them for their immense contribution to the Commission's work."

I'm guessing that this rules out the prospects of a seat in the Lords for me...