It wouldn’t change her interest in politics, so it shouldn’t affect her ability to pursue experience in the field. Ergo, fair remuneration for full time working hours is necessary to let everyone with a passion for politics have a stab, without getting into horendous debt.

Frankly, she shouldn’t need to rely on you at all. Family means should make no difference. That’s where the problem lies.

Furthermore, other industries pay their interns or run schemes to help young people get experience, regardless of background, and without becoming an unpaid workforce. Parliament, of all places, should be leading the way.

I was really surprised at your comment as I regarded you are a great Libertarian. I have no grudge against the privileged, and I don’t know how you interpreted that. I believe equal opportunities should be available to all aspiring political students, but it is a fact of life that experiencing the Westminster bubble is not within reach of many who are not financially supported. It would be impossible to live in London on expenses alone for up to a year without an extra source of funding.

I don’t see why a student from Sunderland, for example, should be denied this wonderful experience and be expected to work solely with their local branch as there is no comparison; they would never enjoy the same experiences that daughter P is enjoying.

I’m all for internships and recognise it is mutually beneficial. My point is that the work which interns do should be evaluated and they should be paid accordingly if their work is making a valued contribution to the office. If your daughter can manage without it, then that’s fine, but others will need it. The LEA cut Martine’s funding because it did not recognise Westminster as “a teaching institution”. It is certainly outrageous to hear of an MP not paying his interns’ expenses which was referred to on the radio programme.

I am sad to read comments about “privilege” from people who should know better. Comments about the hypocrisy of Labour MPs who are materialists by ideology and think everything can be reduced to cash as well as being advocates of minimum wage and benefits systems that combine to keep young working people on the dole would be more appropriate. Better they were low-paid apprentices developing valuable skills than racking up the high scores on their play-stations. No-one is ever going to want to pay them for that.

So I keep feeding her and paying for her accommodation as I did (and will again when the internship’s over) at her University in London. Big deal. I will do it forever if she’s learning something of value that she’s passionate about. That doesn’t make me or her a bad person.

Don’t tell us how to live our lives please. Who better than her family to “rely” on for “support?” Didn’t the Tories used to claim to be the party of the family? Now families helping each other is a bad thing and something to be associated with “privilege?” For shame, Ellee. Poorer families living in striking distance of Westminster could (and can) do the same. More might if they were not afflicted with the entitlement culture your post sadly reflects. Those living too far away could be interns in MPs constituency or at local party offices.

Ellee, with your talk of “privilege”, sneering at families looking after themselves, and your desire to regulate private arrangements why don’t you and your commenters just join the Labour Party and have done with it?

I hope MPs like Phillip Hammond who back in August claimed that to pay interns would be “an abuse of taxpayer funding” (http://www.spectator.co.uk/martinbright/5279651/that-philip-hammond-email-in-full.thtml) are won round to our way of thinking.

Otherwise internships like this will continue to be the preserve of the privileged.