A volunteer no more

No wonder he's smiling. Having toiled as Harriet Harman's
deputy for the past eight months, Chris Bryant has finally been put on the Government payroll.

The newly-promoted Foreign Office Minister will be around £30,000 a year richer after Gordon Brown completed his reshuffle of junior government posts.

Although once known as an ultra-Blairite, the Rhondda MP was among those involved in the coup against Tony Blair in late 2006.

Others involved in the coup against Blair, such as Wayne David and Mark Tami, have prospered in a Brown Government, although Mr Tami also had to get by on his backbencher's salary for a while.

Another who resigned as an (unpaid) parliamentary aide in the Blair administration, Ian Lucas, was today promoted from assistant whip to junior Minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills under the unofficial deputy PM Lord Mandelson.

As the Wrexham MP puts it: “It will be very exciting to work with Lord Mandelson and other colleagues in the department."

Do as I say......

Gordon Brown will doubtless appreciate today's professions of loyalty from his Welsh flock.

Don Touhig and Chris Bryant are among twenty backbenchers who've signed a letter to their colleagues urging them to stand up and be counted as loyal supporters of the Prime Minister.

Letter-writing is something of a habit for Mr Bryant at this time of year. His last letter was accompanied by a number of resignations from junior members of the Government, among them Mark Tami and Ian Lucas.

Two years on from the coup against Tony Blair, Mr Tami is now one of those in charge of enforcing party discipline and loyalty and Mr Lucas offers his own advice to Government Whips:

"I would hope the individuals trying to create friction will be spoken to very firmly and that is certainly what I will be saying to colleagues."

Back of the net!

It's the traditional curtain-raiser to the football season. Yes, the mini-tournament featuring politicians from the UK's Parliaments and Assemblies has just taken place.

Wrexham MP Ian Lucas may be as sick as a parrot after registering two own goals while turning out for a Welsh Assembly XI.

Full details are here although my man with the lip microphone and sheepskin coat tells me the second own goal was against Scotland.

The transfer window doesn't close until August 31 - there's still time for Fergie, Big Phil and the others to launch a bid for the Wrexham dynamo.

On the right track?

Fans of coalition government will be thrilled to see that Labour MPs and AMs are now sending out publicity photos of themselves alongside a wall plaque commemorating the efforts of the Plaid Cymru leader.

The plaque unveiled by Ieuan Wyn Jones (whose job title takes up three lines of wall space) commemorates the launch of the first direct train from Wrexham to London.

Mr Lucas (centre) was a passenger on board the train and turned up in good time for Defence Questions in the Commons this afternoon.

Crisis? What crisis?!

No, this isn't a Peter Hain fund-raising event, even if some of his friends do appear prominently in the photograph.

North Wales MPs got together to promote the addition of Snowdonia Cheese on the menu in the Members' dining room.

Chris Ruane said, "It is important to us that we promote welsh produce here in London and more specifically here in the Commons."

MPs have their own favourites. Betty Williams, Martyn Jones and Ian Lucas are fans of "Black Bomber", Chris Ruane, David Hanson and Mark Tami prefer the 'Red Devil' - and Albert Owen's choise is 'Green Thunder.'

Snowdonia Cheese also supply Ginger Spice, Pickle Power, Purple Passion and Amber Mist - the latter is a medium cheddar laced with whisky in an orange wax.

Flag waving

Wrexham Labour MP Ian Lucas shows off his new design for the Union flag. What do you think?

He said: "This is not just a dry constitutional issue – indeed, I am aware that the politics of flags can stir some strong emotions. I am also keenly aware that there is a school of thought in Wales which means people do not feel the Union Flag represents them.

“I hope my proposal will mean that those people feel that their concerns are being listened to, that the new constitutional arrangements in the UK are marked – and most of all, that there is a wide-ranging debate on the Union Flag and what it means in Wales and the UK."

Mr Lucas raised the issue in a special debate in the Commons last night - the Government has promised to consider his views but don't hold your breath.....