Alan Duncan has, we are told, been given a final “third strike and you are out” warning by Dave. Guido can’t see how the public can trust the Tories to be really sincere on reforming MPs’ expenses if Alan Duncan is negotiating for the Tories. His sense of self-entitlement clearly shows he is not well disposed to anything that is going to reduce his ability to pick the pockets of the taxpayers.

Tory backbenchers are lining up behind Duncan’s claim that parliament will not be able to attract candidates of the “right calibre”. Complete bullshit – this is a self-serving and fallacious argument. The army pays poorly and yet still attracts the best calibre people, well motivated and made of the right stuff. The finest priests are poor and honest.

Politics is a field that has always attracted the worst character types; the power hungry and the vain, egotistical blowhards with an an over-developed sense of self worth go into politics the world-over claiming they want to “make the world a better place”. Paying them high salaries and padding it all out with financial perks compounds the problem. It attracts people with all the usual character flaws of those attracted to politics and who are also plain greedy.

Politics should be about public service, it should be an honour, not a grubby profession pursued for personal enrichment straight out of Oxbridge.

Don’t go into politics to make money. Choose a different business career if you want to be wealthy. Better still make some money first and go into politics after you have gained a couple of decades of real world experience. John Prescott becoming a multi-millionaire at the taxpayers’ expense when he was supposed to be a servant of the people sends out the wrong signals.

Politicians who claim that the “right calibre” people are motivated by high financial rewards really mean they want those rewards. Guido wants politicians who are motivated not by the prospect of personal enrichment, but instead by the honour of being elected as public servants.