Standard-class on trains 'just about bearable if one is in flip-flops and a T-shirt' - Lord Palmer

I get the feeling that despite the age of austerity, many British MPs and Peers still do not even contemplate or consider travelling in "standard class" when required to take a train to fulfil their duties.

Cast your mind back a few months to February: do you remember Nicholas Winterton MP's rant on Radio 5 live in which he famously said of standard-class passengers that "they are a totally different type of people" before having to calm the storm and state "politicians are not better than ordinary people"?

Well this week, a member of the House of Lords, the UK Parliament's upper chamber, too made his voice heard as he spoke in a debate on the Lords' new expenses system.

Lord Palmer, a crossbench hereditary peer who lives in Scotland, said:

"A four-hour train journey in standard class, which is what I have to endure, is just about bearable if one is in flip-flops and a T-shirt, but not if you are trying to study parliamentary papers and dressed to attend your Lordships' House."

While I may not have completed such a journey myself in the wig and gown worn by the Lords, I have made such a journey by train in a suit and managed to read my papers - may I recommend the Noble Lordship look into the Quiet Coach on his next journey?

[Following this debate, the Peers approved changes to their expenses regime, introducing a flat-rate fee of £300 for each day spent attending the chamber and those working less than a full day will be able to claim £150 - but it will be left to their own judgment to decide whether to claim the lower rate. Members will also be entitled to claim travel expenses, including rail fares. The new regime replaces a day subsistence allowance of up to £86.50, an office costs allowance of up to £75, and, for Peers whose main home is outside London, an overnight allowance of up to £174.]