Alice would have felt entirely at home if she had strayed into the Lords chamber on Tuesday afternoon, the first day back after the Summer Recess. Everything seemed the wrong way round or upside down.

First, several Peers nearly strayed into the wrong seats, because – by mutual agreement between the party leaders – the Liberal Democrats had vacated the limited benches behind the Bishops and taken over the rows further away from the Lord Speaker on the Government side. The Conservatives so dispossessed had not all registered the change, but soon took fright when they saw the serried ranks of Liberal Democrats, as did the Crossbenchers who have also tended to overspill in this direction in the last Parliament.

Then the Questions took a distinctly odd course. Labour Peers fulminated about the proposed change to a fairer voting system with the Alternative Vote – a proposal which was strongly supported in their May General Election manifesto. On behalf of the Government Liberal Democrat Leader Tom McNally defended the Coalition compromise proposal of AV – despite the fact that it had not been the favourite reform of either of the governing parties in their manifestos. The Opposition apparently urging no change (despite their new Leader’s declaration for AV) and the usually more cautious Conservatives signing up for reform. Topsy turvey indeed.

It did not stop there. A newly arrived Labour Peer was cheered by his colleagues when he attacked the Government for threatening to remove generous benefits from the better-off to ensure that they were instead targeted on the less well-off.

Alice would have been forgiven for thinking that Labour used to stand up for poor against the rich, but now that too seems to turned inside out by the political mirrors.

Meanwhile, this air of unreality in the Palace of Westminster was increased by the absence of the Commons. Apparently Conservative MPs felt obliged to attend their Party Conference in Birmingham, but Conservative Peers feel no such obligation. So we had the place to ourselves.

As an observer of this curiously inside out world, I made a brief contribution – whether as the White Knight, the Walrus or the Carpenter I leave you to judge.. But certainly Tweedledee and Tweedledum must be somewhere there on the Coalition benches ?