The longest hangover in history?

Last night's news that Alan Duncan has been demoted from Shadow Leader of the House of Commons to Prisons Minister suggests that the expenses hangover is still lingering.

He could possibly have chosen his words more carefully and been savvy to the fact that in the existing febrile environment a camera may have been working its media magic.

But perhaps Duncan's biggest mistake was allowing his private remarks to become public when others have not.

That is not to say that many MPs do not share Duncan's views. He is certainly right to allude to the fact that the House of Commons runs the risk of becoming a Chamber of suspects and that the Parliamentary stewardship that has seen this nation through so many of its darkest hours runs the risk of ending or being fatally undermined by knee jerk reactions to the expenses situation.