MPs on reality TV? We've got a word for that, haven't we children!/January 14th 2011.

Richie - My precocious 10 year old grandson Bob Roberts jnr is staying with us and, as an aspiring politician who already has his beady little eye set on becoming Labour PM by the time he's 40, I've arranged for all the national newspapers to be delivered each morning so as to encourage him to read the best cutting edge political commentators of the day. I've also suggested that he read your column too, Richie, but I'm afraid he hasn't been impressed. "This Littlenutter bloke is nothing but a Tory windbag, grandad!" he said. "It's not ex-Labour MPs doing insurance commercials he should be worrying about but the appalling state of this nation under the vile, unelected CONDEM government, I say!" I tried to explain that your column was only taken seriously by a few Right-Wing nutters but he wasn't having it. "I'm going to write my own article all about troughing Tory MPs in the pay of big business" he said and promptly skipped off to enlist the help of the sweet young girl next door as his PA!