Interning: The Story So Far!

So then: what have I been up to these past three weeks? The short answer: working for Andrew George MP (St Ives and the Isles of Scilly) in his Westminster office, which is next to Big Ben.

Andrew George MP: representing Cornwall for over 13 years!

The long answer? Well, I could tell you, but I'd probably have to kill you. Or at least, make sure you never talked to a journalist. But I can confirm a number of things that the general public are probably aware of anyway...

1. MPs are, as a rule, EXTREMELY busy. This obviously depends on their role: if they're a new MP you will probably see them quite a lot; if it's Cameron or Clegg you're trying to spot, fat chance. You get used to seeing familiar faces after a while though: Alistair Darling and David Miliband have been spotted by yours truly from time to time.

2. An MP's diary is INSANE.

3. Cornish people write the nicest letters: one of them sent a typewritten letter. How awesome is that, eh? :-D

4. Movember (where men grow moustaches to draw attention to prostate cancer) has been well supported by many MPs: Mike Crockart, Roger Williams and Tom Brake to name a few!

5. You can work in Westminster for about six months and STILL not know where a room is.

6. I have lost count of how many letters we receive.

7. Bob Russell (MP for Colchester) has made a special chocolate bar for Lib Dems, and I have proof!



8. There are 650 MPs in total.

9. I have met... about 20, give or take. Mostly Lib Dems, like Charles Kennedy and Simon Hughes: but also Neil Carmichael (Conservative MP for Stroud), Nic Dakin (Labour MP for Scunthorpe), and Barry Gardiner (Labour MP for Brent North).

10. I am loving every minute of it, eeeeeeee :-D

That's all for now folks, but there may be more shortly!

The Evening Stanners

Broken Laws

Oh, dearie me. The coalition may well hold a new record for the quickest Cabinet resignation since the formation of a UK government known to man. Not even Ted Heath's government started this badly, though it has to be said that David Cameron did NOT get hit by rotten tomatoes.

So why is the Lib-Con coalition honeymoon "already over"? Well, as I'm sure you'll have read in the Guardian and other such outraged newspapers (ie all of 'em), David Laws (above), Chief Secretary to the Treasury, resigned yesterday. This is because he broke the expenses rules from 2006, when he claimed money that should have gone to the taxpayer.

About £40,000 to be precise.

Naturally, there's a bit of outrage about that: the Lib Dems did rather well after taking the moral high ground on the expenses scandal last year, so the Yeovil MP is not exactly in much of a position to argue.

The difficulty for Laws is that he was trying to protect people around him: because the money he claimed went to his landlord, and partner, James Lundie. Many of his close friends did not know about Laws' sexuality: hence why he claimed the money, in order to protect his reputation. Unfortunately, covering something up will only get you so far: in Laws' case, into the Cabinet for 18 days, before all hell broke loose.

It's hard not to feel sorry for Laws: one gets the feeling he's been hounded out a bit here. But rules are rules, and Laws would only have damaged his reputation further by trying to wriggle out of it. In any case, judging by the support from such right-wingers as Iain Duncan-Smith, he will probably be back at some point. But the lefties will want to see him repay the money, and plenty of penitence whilst he's at it: much like they wanted to see Tony Blair apologise for Iraq, or George Bush apologise for being a muppet.

So will the coalition fall apart? My guessing would be: not yet, lads. This was very much the media baying for blood, and the public mood is decidedly anti-media: newspapers are not cool, Twitter and Facebook more sort of are. So the likelihood is it will hold until at least next May, by which time we'll see how the new Labour man (or woman) is doing.

Definitely a shock to the system, though.

Clegg: Well, this is a bit bogus.

Bill: Shut up, Clegg!

The Evening Stanners