And on this basis, our great nation is governed...

Earlier this afternoon in the House of Lords...

The Earl of Onslow: As I have conceded several times in your Lordships’ House, I am the first to say that the reason I am allowed to boss you about is because one of my forebears got drunk with Pitt or Walpole—a form of “Thank you very much for that last bottle of port”—but that is not acceptable in a modern state.

Call me old-fashioned, but I find this curiously reassuring...