" At times, I feel that colleagues would vote for the slaughter of the first born if asked to."
Alan Simpson's verdict on his fellow Labour MPs. I'm not sure that he's exaggerating. Simpson, who represents Nottingham South, won't be standing for re-election having realised that he can be more effective outside the Parliament than in it. Of course all MPs know that, but the money's good and then there are the perks, the junkets, the brown envelopes. Better a rich eunuch than a poor, honest man (the MPs' motto).