Oops!

I awoke on Thursday to find I was listed on the Daily Mail Roll of Honour. I had voted for a referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon. I think I have publicised my reasons sufficiently.

However being a hero in the eyes of the Mail was new – as I have sharp disagreements with their editorial line on other occasions and the loaded way they treat some subjects , though I admire enormously the way its laid out .

Whenever I get a constituent who angrily cuts up a newspaper cutting and sends it to me to comment, its invariably the Mail inside the envelope .

I seriously wonder if people with high blood pressure should buy the Mail as often it seems designed to make people splutter with rage over their cornflakes.

Anyway on Friday at the Nick Clegg Rally in the new dockside Echo Conference Centre I was stood next to Brenda Carlin, a London journalist I know who worked for the Daily Telegraph.

He wryly asked what horrible punishment had been meted out to me for ignoring the three line whip.

I responded in equally jovial mode.

“I’m on the Daily Mail Roll of Honour”, I said. “Given my take on the Mail- its like being on the Gestapo Christmas Card List. “

“Oh no”, said Brendan “Its much worse than that!”.

He then handed me his new business card .

It read ‘Brendan Carlin -Mail on Sunday’

He had moved papers !

Despite that it was a good conference in Liverpool .Nick’s speech excellent.

We had a stall promoting Southport there and sold raffle tickets to the most unlikely people. We even had Michael Crick of Newsnight weakening to the teams sales pitch until scruples of journalistic independence restrained him.