On being polite, I think it is an advantage. Insulting one another directly just creates a bad termpered debate and leads to festering ill will. Being polite allows one to disagree with one another and yet work amicably on other issues. It is actually quite important in facilitating the effective work of the House.

Insults can be subtle; there’s no point, though, in employing them if they are too subtle!

Yorkshire folk are a refreshing change. If the ‘polite’ way can so easily be translated as ‘Sit Down’ or ‘Shut Up’, there seems little advantage, or indeed politeness, in the way that it is said. It could even be seen as duplicitous, sneaky or sarcastic. Maybe that’s the point ? Alternatively, if it is too subtle, and people don’t get the hint, then who would then get the blame for that ?

That said, let us hope we never get to the level of the Australians whose Tourist Office is insisting on those ridiculous adverts with the question ‘What is your location’ spoken in the vernacular…

Anyway, what I wanted to ask was this: there has been lots of TV coverage today of the Commons exchanges on the 10p tax rate story. At times of high political tension like this, we see lots of footage of the Commons on our TVs, with lots of huffing and puffing and indignation. Do high-tension stories like this also raise the temperature in the Lords? For example, has the 10p tax story been mentioned today at all?

And this is kind of related to this post because I wonder how much of the forceful and very direct politicking of the Commons makes it into the Lords.

Thank you in anticipation and in advance for any comments you may give.