You don't do something they complain...

....but you do it 'too quickly' and they complain even more! Poor Gordy unveiled a replacement to MP's second homes in the form of weekly payments for 'attendance' - rather like the payments some high-schoolers get for turning up to "learn". Lovely. But apparently that just isn't good enough. CamCam suggested Brown had had a policy 'U-turn', which although very true could be a bit extreme. He also suggested this made the proposal a 'farce'. This resulted in him requesting a lot from his Cabinet. Ditto with the extremity. The Commons Standards Committee has suggested that the PM could be pushing the vote through 'too fast' - what kind of a complaint is that?!

Another part of Brown's week-from-hell? His first major defeat as PM, over the right of Gurkha's, who have fought alongside British soldiers for centuries, to settle in Britain. Unbelievably for a Labour Government Brown's motion was to allow only restricted settlement to the Gurkha's, with the Liberal Democrats tabling an opposing motion that all Gurkha's should be allowed to settle in the UK. 267 to 243 MPs voted for the Liberal Democrat motion over the Labour motion with 136 MPs abstaining entirely - it is these plus the 28 Labour rebels that are the biggest embarrassment for the Government. However, although CamCam in particular is elated that Gordy has been so thoroughly embarrassed it IS the PM's first defeat. I'm thinking the Times headline "Will Gordon go?" is taking defeat a tad too far. My father's best advice ever seems kinda relevant now - 'I've failed constantly for the last 20 years. It'd be a bit weak for you to be defeated once.'

Finally a recommendation: Go see In The Loop! It's a spin-off of In The Thick Of It (btw if you haven't seen that either do it!) and shows every ones favourite officials, ministers and civil servants, all with a comedic edge, travelling across the Atlantic to mingle with their American counterparts, all with the careful veil of preparing for War. Think of it as a kind of Yes Minister for the techy generation. Sound good? It is and it even premiered at Sundance to great critical acclaim. We all now know what to do at the weekend!