Julian in the crown

It's a topsy-turvy, seesaw world in modern-day politics. Southampton students demonstrating against tuition fees hit a low moment when social security minister John Denham, one of the few Labour MPs signed up to address the student rallies, had to cancel at a couple of hours notice. The unexpected high came from former John Redwood supporter and Eurosceptic Tory Julian Lewis. "He was the only person who bothered to come to the student union and spent more than an hour talking to students about the issues," said one politically-confused admirer.