Although not included in his speech today, the Prime Minister does appear to be considering introducing regional benefits, so that people in one part of the country received more than those in others.

The idea was included in an early draft of the speech - presented as a "question" to be asked rather than a proposal - but cut out of the final version, Downing Street says.

We can only guess how such an idea might work in practice, but it would presumably mean that benefits were higher in wealthier parts of the country such as the south east, where the cost of living is also generally higher, and lower in the North and Midlands.

The recent talks at Rio+20 on sustainable developments have been criticised by many for achieving very little in terms of tackling the crisis facing the planet. In my view the reasons for this are clear and embedded in the way we communicate science and policy to public demanding critical self-examination and reflection.

Last week in my gym I saw a notice stating how the gym was going to be improved that night with a major re-organisation of equipment and that this represented an exciting new development in the evolution of the gym and that all members would benefit.

I know you're on a mission: you want to denounce everything that has gone on in education in the last 25 to 30 years specifically in regard to teaching and learning. You are worried that hardly anyone knows their 12 times table or can recite an iconic poem like The Charge of the Light Brigade.

It sounds like a tall order but you are determined to reject the received wisdom about effective pedagogy from left-wing educationalists like the former Birmingham Chief Education Officer, Tim Brighouse. You might remember him; he was a 1980's maverick who implemented fresh strategies for effective teaching and classroom management, thereby inspiring a generation of future teachers/head teachers.

Clearly you, as an education secretary, are not one of them.

39 laptops have been stolen from offices in Parliament over the past year, an MP has discovered.

Harriett Baldwin (Con West Worcestershire) made inquiries after two laptops were stolen from her locked office on the Parliamentary estate during the Jubilee break.

Speaking in the Commons, she called for a debate on how MPs could make their offices secure.

A bit more detail from our coverage of the recent hearing of the Commons Transport Committee:

Motor industry executives told the Committee that the Chancellor had set back attempts to develop and sell low-emission vehicles in the March Budget.

Employees who receive company cars are charged a benefit-in-kind tax, on the basis that the vehicle is effectively part of their income. For vehicles with the highest emissions, the tax rate is 35 per cent of the value of the vehicle each year.

Have you ever thought about getting involved in local politics - but decided it's not for you?

If so, MPs want to find out why - and how things could be changed to encourage more people to get involved.

The Communities and Local Government Committee at the House of Commons is inviting anyone who has considered standing to become a councillor to get in touch.
That includes people who actually did stand in local elections, including sitting councillors, as well as anyone who chose not to.

Gordon Brown would have told the plotters who forced Tony Blair to quit to stop their rebellion - if he had known about it, he has told the Leveson inquiry.

The former Prime Minister insisted he would have told Black Country MP Tom Watson (Lab West Bromwich East) to have stopped the plot, if only Mr Watson had told him what was going on.

Mr Watson was the most high-profile Labour politician to sign a letter in 2006 demanding Mr Blair set a date for his resignation. Labour had fought the 2005 general election on the basis that Mr Blair would serve a full third term in office.

Boris Johnson knows exactly when he decided he was a Tory. It was when he worked as a local newspaper reporter "in a place called Wolverhampton".

Asked by the New York Times whether he remembered the moment he knew that you was a Conservative, he revealed: "When I was a 22- or 23-year-old reporter in a place called Wolverhampton. I got impatient with some of the stuff I saw going on about damp and mold, about who's ultimately responsible for improving the ventilation in people's houses.