When the inestimable Mark Pack wrote to a number of bloggers looking for volunteers to guest edit Liberal Democrat Voice for a day, there was an initial chorus of ‘sounds interesting, get back to me when I’m sober’. My response was:

I, on the other hand, am sober. Sober enough to realise that Mark’s offer might not suit my particular skill set. Unless, of course, you want a day enriched by constitutional and organisational minutiae…

Back came the response;

“Thanks for offering to guest edit Lib Dem Voice for a day. Would a day in the week of Sat 17 July – Fri 23 July suit?”

I was, I admit, somewhat confused (don’t worry, you’ll get used to that) but I’m told that such a strategy is proven to be successful at getting people to do things even when they didn’t intend to (I think I see how this works now…). And so, here I am, today’s guest editor.

However, the good news is that, whilst I have chosen a theme for today, it has nothing to do with bureaucracy. Instead, I intend to try to shed some light on the less well-reported end of the Palace of Westminster, the House of Lords, where a bunch of people, most of whom are generally thought to be dead, make law and stand up for good governance. Yes, there is ermine, men in tights and buckled shoes and even the Captain of the Queen’s Bodyguard of the Yeoman of the Guard, but there is a lot more than meets the eye.

So, sit back with a decent glass of claret as I take you down the red corridors to a place where courtesy is de rigueur, but where change is coming…

Mark Valladares is a long-time party apparatchik but is told that there are drugs that can cure this. He may be better known as the slightly bemused husband of Party President, Baroness Ros Scott and, in answer to the inevitable question, no there isn’t a title. He isn’t bitter, no, not at all, not even a little, really… However, he has read every Constitution that the Party has to offer, which gives him powers beyond limit and beyond comprehension.

His blog, Liberal Bureaucracy is described as ‘surprisingly amusing’ by politics.co.uk, who really should know better.