LOCAL MP Douglas Carswell recorded a Parliamentary first this week when he sent a frustrated message to a website in the middle of a debate in the House of Commons.

Angered at the lack of opportunity to speak in an education debate he sent a message to a Conservative website saying: "It is now so utterly plodding and pedestrian that the gaggle of Italian tourists up in the visitors gallery got up and left....rather as cricket has been made more exciting with the 20/20 rules, we need to find ways of making Commons debates more punchy."

We fully agree and think he has hit inadvertently immediately found the solution - make it just like 20/20 ccricket.

For a start, MPs should be welcomed into the chamber with a blast of their own specially chosen theme tune. We are not sure what music Mr Carswell would enter the fray to but are confident it would not be Euro pop.

Secondly, the debates should be much quicker, with an umpire dismissing MPs from the house as soon as they rabbit on for too long without making a scoring point.

Thirdly, MPs should wear coloured uniforms according to their party and spectators should be allowed to drink copiously in the public gallery and chant, cheer and comment. We pay MP's wages after all, we should be allowed to encourage' them.

Fourthly, MPs should realise the debate, like 20/20 cricket, is simply a manufactured spectacle designed to entertain rather than supposing what they actually say might matter.

The number of times a Government has said "good point, we will abandon all our policies and change our minds" following a debate is about as rare as England winning at 20/20 cricket.

Fifthly, like cricketers, MPs should have half the year off - how silly of us, they already do!

Also in the headlines this week is Bernard Jenkin MP expressing his anger at the fact the Government is giving £8 billion to the EU while the A12 remains a car park and British troops are under-resourced.

While we entirely agree with his sentiments, anyone who has read the excellent book Lions, Donkeys and Dinosaurs by Lewis Page will know the reason British troops do not have enough kit is because for years politicians have allowed the Armed Forces to waste billions on pointless projects.

It is not the EU which is to blame, but our own MPs, past and present.

Howzat!