The SNP are guilty of shocking chutzpah in their claims over a Tory 'stitch up'

I have an awkward relationship with the House of Lords. On the one hand, it regularly proves a doughty guardian of liberties against a rash, headline-chasing executive. On the other hand, it’s the House of Lords. Hereditary peers, bishops, Liberal Democrats — the clientele are a rum lot. We don’t have our constitutional troubles to seek but we might want to look at getting ourselves one of those elected upper chambers, albeit one independent of Downing Street and party managers.

Nevertheless, the Lords has its uses, and one of the most welcome is bringing experience to government. A good example is Ian Duncan, the Scottish Tory MEP who is reported to be heading for the red benches and from there to a junior ministerial post in the Scotland Office. Duncan fell 21 votes short of taking Perth and North Perthshire from the SNP’s Pete Wishart on June 8. He will now get the opportunity to serve from a different place at a time of vital importance for the UK.