At the penultimate Lords oral question time before Christmas on December 16, he looked back wistfully at the long period when English dogs had to have a licence.
Disraeli introduced dog licensing in 1874 even though he did not particularly like dogs. The cost at seven shillings and sixpence was still the same 113 years later when the scheme was abolished.
“Of how many government schemes can this be said?”, he asked.