A silent lord who should quietly retire

The SMART new website for Tory peer Peter Palumbo has no fewer than ten photos of him, with Princess Diana, Margaret Thatcher, the Queen and playing polo.

There are also photographs of some of the property developer’s major schemes, such as Number 1 Poultry in the City of London, which was opened by f ormer Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Eddie George.

But there are no photos of him in the Lords, which he entered i n 1991 — which i s perhaps not surprising.

The former Arts Council chairman has spoken in the Upper house only twice in the past 15 years. he has taken part in fewer than 14 per cent of the votes in the past 12 months.

But the multi-millionaire, who is godfather to Princess Beatrice, the daughter of Prince Andrew,

The Lib Dems have written to the commercial company owned by Lynton Crosby, who ran the Tories’ election campaign, to ask if he can help them understand why they did so badly. Crosby, a no-nonsense Australian who has a colourful turn of phrase, will, I’m reliably informed, give them a two-word answer: Nick Clegg.

has not been so slow to claim his expenses.

he has claimed a touch under £50,000 tax free in attendance allowance, which is £300 a day, over the past five years. In the same period he’s spoken only once, to pay tribute to Lady Thatcher on her death in 2013. he has not tabled a single question in those five years. Nice work if you can get it.

It’s the likes of Palumbo, 79, who should be put i nto the voluntary retirement scheme for peers — except in his case it should be compulsory.