Tory MPs: here’s how you can get half-term off with your kids

Don’t expect this afternoon’s vote on HS2 to be the biggest insurrection of all time: it is the preparation bill and there are a number of reasons why MPs who could yet oppose the project won’t cause trouble this afternoon. One is the rather technical reason that some want to support this legislation in order to secure adequate compensation for constituents whose property will be blighted until an alternative route is chosen or all three parties agree to invest in existing lines. Another is that some remain to be convinced of the case for the line: the whips have been working rather hard on this, I hear.

But the third is that it’s half term for a lot of schools, and a sure-fire way of getting time off to spend with your children if you’re a Tory MP is apparently to mention to your whip that you’re minded to oppose the preparation bill.