𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the US House of Representatives, sat next to me during the Budget on Wednesday. The 86-year-old, perhaps one of America’s most well-known politicians not to have been president, was the star guest as John Healey delivered his debut fiscal statement in the House of Commons.

It was a good job too – chatting with the veteran Democrat was far more interesting than listening to the Chancellor’s snoozefest. She was enthralled by Prime Minister’s Questions, which took place in the 30 minutes beforehand, telling me it’s “far more raucous” than on TV. “I loved it,” she said with a glint in her eye.

It’s no surprise. Pelosi has had many clashes in Congress over the years, most notably with Donald Trump, who has branded her “Crazy Nancy”.

She was all Stars and Stripes charm with me and was deeply interested in the Commons rules, asking me why some MPs stood at the far end of the Chamber facing the Speaker’s chair.

I pointed out that it is a space issue – the chamber has only 427 seats for 650 MPs – and they’re not allowed to ask questions during proceedings because they are behind the Bar of the House (a white line on the floor). Historically, this line represents the Commons’ independence from the monarchy.

No reigning monarch has crossed the Bar of the House since King Charles I breached it in 1642 to arrest five MPs, an act that triggered the English Civil War. Pelosi scarpered 15 minutes into the Budget (I hope it wasn’t something I said) because she had another engagement, thanking me for my history lesson as she bid farewell.

All this chat about parliamentary rules brings me neatly on to the rather bemusing story of a Lib Dem MP who had a “physical altercation” with Nigel Farage in the House of Commons on the day of the King’s Speech. It turns out that Caroline Voaden was the supposed villain and the reason why Pelosi and I couldn’t see the Reform UK leader during the Budget.

Mr Farage claimed he wasn’t in the chamber on Wednesday because he wanted to avoid another clash with the South Devon MP after seeing his seat reservation had been removed. A Lib Dem source said that Ms Voaden had been “shocked and bloody angry” by the incident in May and accused Mr Farage of “gaslighting” her about it.

The source said: “He seems to be suggesting that he was the victim, when the reality was quite the opposite.”

Monica Harding, another Lib Dem MP, claimed Mr Farage had “shoved a female MP out of the way, sending her flying so he could get to the front of the procession for the King’s Speech”.

However, a Reform source said: “It’s not true at all – it was the Lib Dem MPs being aggressive towards Nigel. This is typical Lib Dem dishonesty in an attempt to stay relevant.”

Sources close to Mr Farage claimed that his prayer card – a green slip of paper that backbenchers use to reserve a spot on the green benches – had been moved so he no longer had a space.

However, the House of Commons said Mr Farage’s prayer card “did not display a valid date stamp and was removed in line with the usual Chamber protocol”.

It is also understood that Mr Farage did not attend prayers on Wednesday and did not approach House of Commons staff regarding a seat reservation. There are clear and long-established arrangements for Members to reserve their own seats in the Chamber using prayer cards displaying a valid date stamp.

Unlike Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, and Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Mr Farage would not have had the automatic right to respond in the chamber.

Instead, the Reform UK leader gave a press conference in the hours after the Budget outside of the Houses of Parliament alongside Robert Jenrick, his Treasury spokesman. As the late, great poet and playwright TS Eliot observed: “It’s not wise to violate rules until you know how to observe them.”