and unworthy of this or indeed any government. it also had the effect of trashing the reputation of parliament. he is referring here to the government's handling of owen paterson, the former tory mp who was handed a 30—day suspension for breaching lobbying rules. the government tried to overturn his suspension and change the system that judges mps�* conduct. they asked mps to back the plans in the vote. shouting. but u—turned less than 2a hours later, after a furious backlash by the opposition and some conservatives. owen paterson has now resigned and the government has said the way this played out was a mistake. it says the prime minister has stated that paid lobbying and paid advocacy by ministers and mps is absolutely wrong. but sirjohn has claimed this is not a mistake made on its own. it seems to me, as a lifelong conservative, that much of what they are doing is very un—conservative in its behaviour. there are many strands to this that go well beyond