Congratulations to Pat Glass, the newly elected MP for North West Durham. During her campaign she supported tough rules on expenses and promised to be transparent.

She tweets “Have got a fab new office in parliament, and a blackberry and a new flat, suddenly everything is coming together.” Maybe the tweet was an example of that transparency, or maybe it was genuine excitement at joining the gravy train. A salary triple the average national wage, a gold-plated pension, a six-figure expense account, rent-free accomodation, international junkets, cheap bars, subsidised restaurants, not to mention your new Blackberry and flat. Pat, the gravy train has truly pulled into your station, enjoy yourself. Try not to forget taxpayers are voters too…