The Times Red Box Podcast

Tim Montgomerie is joined by Michael Savage, Patrick Kidd and Melanie Philips: Michael Savage It's not been a good summer for our increasingly cramped second chamber. The latest set of peerages confirmed their use as a reward for political donors, allies and lieutenants - the appointment of a prominent figure felled by the expenses scandal caused wide disbelief, and it all came after Lord Sewell's alleged extra-curricular antics had provoked new calls for Lords reform of some kind. With the second chamber now bigger than ever and its reputation in question, will they - or should they - come to anything? Patrick Kidd The claim that David Cameron had to buy a cheap pair of Asda wellies to visit the Somerset floods when he had a perfectly good pair of Hunters in the car boot shows that we have reached peak vacuity in this image-obsessed era of politics. But is that their fault or ours? And is the key lesson of Corbynmania that looks really don't matter? Melanie Philips When I saw the Union Jack being... &#