I am not trying to depress anyone this morning but …

Nearly £50,000 of taxpayers' money has been spent on providing free air travel for the wife of Commons Speaker Michael Martin, it was revealed last night. Within the past three years, Mary Martin has run up a bill of almost £25,000 on foreign flights. In addition she has spent £24,000 flying from the couple's Glasgow home to their grace-and-favour apartment in Westminster

I’m not going to rant on about how eye-wateringly expensive our political class are – we all know how selflessly the sacrifice their lifestyles so that they are no burden upon the taxpayer … however just for a moment, before I start shooting, I just wonder that when MP after Minister are all lining up to berate us for even thinking using a flight when we take our families on holiday, yet when its on the taxpayers nickel or attending an 'important Environmental Conference’, forget carbon footprints ... its all snouts to the trough