Wedding Bells

Is Parliament about to host its first civil partnership ceremony? Readers of today's Independent may have rushed out to buy a hat in anticipation of Chris Bryant's nuptials.

Congratulations are due to the Rhondda MP and his partner Jared Cranney. Mr Bryant told the paper: "Jared and I are engaged and we hope to have a civil partnership – or a marriage is what it feels like – in March of next year. "We'd like to do it in Parliament if possible."

I checked with the Speaker's office to see how far he had gone down the road of obtaining a licence to hold civil ceremonies in his official residence.

"It is something the Speaker is keen on," confirmed a spokeswoman. "Discussions are under way."

Obtaining a licence for a traditional wedding is not always straightforward. You may recall how the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles had to switch their venue from Windsor Castle to the local Guildhall.

The reason? Any licence for the castle would allow the public to marry there for at least three years.

There's no news yet on whether Mr Bercow would be happy to open up Speaker's House to punters although it could prove a nice little earner to defer the cost of MPs' expenses and would certainly cement his reputation as a modernising Speaker.

Should a Westminster wedding prove problematic, Chris and Jared could marry closer to home. Several Rhondda venues now host civil partnerships and with a March date in mind guests could fit in some pre-election canvassing after the ceremony.