Hair-raising sight

After the government's loss of votes during the report stage of the higher education bill, the biggest shock was the sight of Lord Desai, the LSE economist with the Don King hairstyle, going into the government lobby.

Lord Desai's deplorable habit of thinking for himself has twice led to his removal from the front benches. His announcement that he planned to back the government against the Liberal Democrat effort to halt tuition fees disconcerted Tory former education secretary Kenneth Baker, who said: "When the noble lord decides that he will support the government, it is almost a case of any port in a storm."