Uk politics

ITV's Rachel Townsend had a more exciting train journey into Euston than she might have expected this afternoon. She discovered George Osborne sitting in first class with a standard ticket. CLASS. His aide tells ticket collector he cannot possibly move and sit with the likes of us in standard class and requests he is allowed to — Rachel Townsend (@RachTownsendITV) October 19, 2012 remain in First Class. Ticket collector refuses #standoff — Rachel Townsend (@RachTownsendITV) October 19, 2012   What a shame that this happened on a quiet and rainy Friday afternoon in Westminster when every hack and blogger was twiddling their thumbs and wondering what to do.

The Daily Telegraph is the paper that broke the expenses scandal and its splash tomorrow threatens to become the latest chapter in this sorry saga. Holly Watt reports that ‘at least eight MPs are either letting properties to, or renting from, another MP’. Now, it is worth stressing that this is not against the rules. One senior MP, who is not renting out his London residence to another MP or anyone else, argued passionately to me earlier that this is a product of badly drawn up rules. They allow MPs to claim for rent but not mortgage interest payments even if the later would be cheaper for the taxpayer. But what is certain is that parliamentary expenses will now be back under scrutiny and that, almost certainly, means more damage to the reputation of politics.

In normal circumstances, five Tory MPs questioning the chief whip's position at the 1922 Committee would send Tory high command into a panic. But tonight there is relief that only five MPs spoke out against Andrew Mitchell and that more than a dozen spoke in his support. I understand that Bernard Jenkin’s intervention was particularly effective, persuading at least one MP not to speak against Mitchell. Those present say that the mood of the room was largely in favour of the chief whip remaining in post. There’s a sense that while what he did was foolish, the issue has now been hijacked by the Police Federation and the media. Some who initially thought that he should quit now believe there’s simply no good outcome.