Nepotism is a part of life. Westmonster has come to accept this. Sure, there may be cases in which it is utterly disgusting and inexcusable (Max Gogarty, anyone?), but the fact remains: we've all accepted the odd favour from a friend or relative. It's just the way life works.… read more…

The Oxford Union inviting along Irving and Griffin to stand and speak on the Hallowed Ground On Which Our Future Overlords Tread has got Grimmer Up North thinking about the past. Inter alia is this remembrance: "Red Andy" Marr, used to sell Socialist Action in the market square and sport… read more…

Following angry scenes at the Oxford Union last night, as Holocaust denier David Irving and BNP leader Nick Griffin arrived to address the Prestigious Institution That Contains Our Leaders of Tomorrow, everybody agreed that the entire event had been a "great success." "Basically, it went off like a dream," said… read more…

Alex Hilton (of Recess Monkey fame) has apologised to Nadine Dorries MP for committing crimes against Facebook. Ministry of Truth has the back story. UPDATE: Apologies all, Alex has just pointed out that he apologised to Dorries' daughter rather than her.… read more…

News from the Spectator that Blair - jealous of images of the Gord fondling Maggie over the threshold of Number 10 - has decided to do some Tory Molestation of his own. Blair wants to meet Cameron to "brief him on the Middle East" apparently. Yeah yeah, that's what they all say. … read more…

Hmmm, the news that MPs are now allowed to check their emails in the Chamber has had a mixed reaction amongst House of Commons staffers, for a politician with interweb skills is a rare breed indeed and the rest should be closely supervised at all times. The thought of allowing Members… read more…

The annual publishing of MPs' allowance expenditure is always a tiresome one for Parliamentary staff. The meedja (who should and do actually know better) and the blogosphere tend to throw around terms like "pocketing," or infer that our elected representatives have spent the lot on fine wines, hookers, dancing girls, and good times.… read more…

Okay, Westmonster needs to know: is this some sort of High Irony that we're missing?… read more…

The newshounds at Auntie are hot on the story of the new ruling that dictates that House of Commons staffers have to genuflect before Members of Parliament as they push past us in the queue. Apparently, our champions in this matter are the Liberal Democrats' resident Cheeky Boy Lembit Opik… read more…

...or not, as the case may be. Westmonster was amused to see this story on Recess Monkey. Apparently Parliament is positively zinging with a "sexually charged atmosphere." Absolutely. Why, anybody here will tell you that we spend our days engaged in a desperate struggle to keep our clothes on as we… read more…