It's hardly surprising the intimidated new girls didn't make enough fuss. Now they must. The Fawcett Society, backed by women MPs, is petitioning for a parliament with ordinary hours and terms that fit school holidays, instead of late nights and an absurdly long recess. The public may not care about the working conditions of their privileged rulers. But the dangerous disengagement with the political process starts here.
Polls show people hate the look of West minster, the ranting, strutting and posturing.
It will look even more male next time, even more rebarbative to women. In the election no doubt women will be pushed up front. If Tony Blair understood how much humanising politics matters to democracy, he would replace his cabinet of unrecognisable bank managers with women in good, prominent jobs. This time put women inside every loop as the key politicial advisers and lobby fixers. Good policies are no use if without great communicators to sell them.