Underlaying parliamentary democracy

Everyone's going to have a favourite item on the 'John Lewis list' of MPs' allowances, published by the Commons today. Our two faves are the Recordable DVD (270 quid) and underlay (£6.99 per square metre). The specificity of these items puts pictures in our head of new MPs wandering around John Lewis like betrothed couples putting together a wedding list. The fact they thought of "underlay" shows just how much care they put into this. And, given recent events, we think 50 quid for a shredder is too little.