I managed to have a lie down on the Speaker's bed on Tuesday night. It was not something I'd been expecting, but he offered and it was too hard to resist.

I wasn't unwell and there's no scandal, perish the thought. Speaker (Michael) Martin was just proving what a thoroughly decent bloke he is by throwing open the doors to his historic apartment in the Commons.

For centuries it remained a thing of mystery, but he decided that was a waste of a wonderful set of rooms.

So he has now started inviting parties of youngsters and even - from time to time - us hacks to look round.

The Speaker said he had once been told about the renovation of a church in Scotland. When it was finished and looked splendid, the vicar put a big padlock on the door.

When a parishioner asked what he was doing, he said the padlock would only be removed when the bishop was visiting.

Speaker Martin was determined his apartments would not be treated in the same way and I reaped the benefit. There were canapes, champagne and the chance to wander freely among the rooms - which are dominated by mirrors and pictures of every man (and the one woman, Betty Boothroyd) to ever hold the job of making MPs behave themselves.

But the best bit had to be the bed, even though it is very short and far too hard to be comfortable. The Speaker said not to worry, he had a far comfier place to rest upstairs.

While this was taking place, those other upholders of Parliamentary law - the whips - were being altogether less civilised.

They were at their brutish best - standing on every possible route into the division lobby as MPs voted on controversial foundation hospitals.

Labour backbenchers have grown used to the usual threats - never getting the chance to become a Minister is the favourite. But the whips resorted to desperate measures on this occasion.

They invoked the Armageddon option and started threatening to table a vote of confidence in the Government if the rebels defeated the proposal. On the face of it, this appeared completely over-the-top. But it has since emerged the Government may actually lose the vote.

They managed to snatch a narrow victory from the jaws of defeat, but Tony Blair's handsome majority was slashed from 164 to just 35. And the battle is far from over.

The day after the vote, the Prime Minister took the unusual step of warning backbenchers not to let their party self destruct through divisions.

But I suspect they won't be put off, with York old boy Frank Dobson predicting Mr Blair's problems are only just beginning. The former Health Secretary said opposition to foundation hospitals will continue and will cause rows at the TUC and Labour party conferences.

Nor will the trouble end there.

There will be local scandals as hospitals draw up registers of electors for foundation trusts.

Local papers and radio will run stories of old ladies who go to a clinic every month, but have been left off registers, while a visitor from 200 miles away got on because of a once-in-a-lifetime visit to the local accident and emergency unit.

Local Labour MPs with foundation hospitals will get flak for the bad local stories and have nothing positive to show for it.

Mr Blair has made his bed and - unlike the Speaker - he must now lie in it.

Updated: 12:12 Friday, July 11, 2003