Another day, and another swathe of new peers are being sworn into office and £300-a-day expenses. Still waiting for Lord Howard of Transylvania, but the big question today is whether Gordon will actually bother to show up to watch his long-suffering aide Sue Nye ennobled.

Baroness Nye of Rochdale?

After eighteen loyal years in the shadows, keeping out-of-the-way of Nokias, and keeping the rest of the world away from Gordon, her boss repaid her with blame for his own mess and weaknesses. The public got to see it spectacularly once, but who knows what else went on behind closed doors. Eighteen years of “mad, bad and dangerous” work?

She deserves a medal…