Readers will remember disgraced former Labour MP Joan Ryan, kicked out by the voters of Enfield North in 2010 after she was caught “flipping” her second home. Now she is standing for parliament again, pounding the streets listening to constituents’ concerns about their energy bills and campaigning on Labour’s doomed energy price freeze.

Back when she was their MP, Joan had no similar concerns about keeping warm in winter – receipts released during the expenses scandal show that she claimed £2,476 for gas and electricity utility bills for her second home on expenses. Clearly claiming £4,500 for repairs on her Enfield second home before flipping it with her flat in south London was not enough. No wonder local Labour activists begged members not to select her…