David Maddox: Don't tell the candidate

Interesting update from campaign trail on East Dunbartonshire Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson's facebook. Nick Clegg was in Glasgow today to support the European election campaign and a Bishopbriggs council by-election where he met his MP (pictured) and the party's Scottish leader Tavish Scott among others.

Updating from her Twitter at 12.15pm Ms Swinson wrote: "welcoming Nick Clegg to Scotland today for European election campaigning."

But then an hour and 16 minutes later at 1.31pm the Lib Dem council by-election candidate Alistair McPhee posted this somewhat surprised message: "Where are you going campaigning?"

It seems that they did not think it was worth telling their candidate to be present.

Ross Lydall: Home Sweet Home Secretary as Swinson fails to deliver

So, did Jo Swinson come up with the goods? Alas not. Rather than daring to quiz Jacqui Smith on her expenses (see previous post), Ms Swinson tried to open up a new flank on alleged wrongdoings in the House of Lords.

Last week, her Lib-Dem chum Chris Huhne (the party's Home Affairs spokesman) wrote to the Met police to ask it to investigate whether there were grounds to press bribery charges against four peers named in a second round of allegations in the Sunday Times "cash for amendments" row.

So, for that reason, Ms Swinson asked Ms Smith: "Will she tell the House what discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues and the police about whether the police currently have adequate powers to investigate Members of either House of Parliament who are suspected of the common law offence of bribery?"

A relieved Ms Smith quickly replied: "No, I have not had any discussions with police colleagues about that." End of story. Ms Swinson may not get such a good chance of doing some political point-scoring for quite some time.

Ross Lydall: Has Jo Swinson the nerve to demand home truths of Jacqui Smith?

Interesting to see that Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat MP for East Dunbartonshire and champion of openness and transparency, is due to ask the first "topical" question to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith this afternoon.

By a quirk of bad timing, Ms Smith has to face the Commons a day after finding her living arrangements splashed over the front page of the Mail on Sunday. By living with her sister in south London and nominating her constituency home as her second home, she is able to claim up to £24,006 a year in the second home allowance (entirely within the letter - if not the spirit - of the rules, it should be added).

Commendably, and in contrast to most other MPs, Ms Swinson publishes all her parliamentary expenses on her website. But will she have the nerve to take on Ms Smith, and secure for herself a few headlines?

One wonders what advice she might be receiving from her Lib-Dem colleague and shadow Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael. The MP for Orkney and Shetland, a canny chap, is due to be appointed to a new parliamentary committee overseeing members' allowances, as is Labour MP and government whip Tommy McAvoy, who represents Rutherglen and Hamilton West.