AN unusual pact has been made between two of the county’s Tory MPs.

Henley MP John Howell recently admitted during a commons debate that he is named in Banbury MP Sir Tony Baldry’s last will and testament.

It was during a debate about women becoming bishops.

Mr Howell said: “I should begin by declaring an interest, one that is in my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests: I am a church organist.

“Indeed, my hon. Friend Sir Tony Baldry rather surprised me last night when he told me that he has left in his will a stipend – hopefully a sizeable one – for me to play at his memorial service when the dreaded day comes.”

If Sir Tony, above, really is recognising his friends in parliament in his last wishes, The Insider wonders what he will leave for his good friend and ally David Cameron.

MEANWHILE, the bombastic Banbury MP has been keeping us informed about his new fitness regime for 2013.

But while some of his constituents may be turning to new fads such as Zumba, Sir Tony has opted for something a little more posh-sounding.

In his 2013 new year message on his website, he said: “My wife, Pippa, made sure in the dying days of 2012 that I started my 2013 attempt of losing weight and getting fitter, so I shall be spending the New Year break yomping across the North Devon countryside.”

Maybe he should drop the yomping and just attempt a “Baldrydash”.

IT’S great to see cutbacks within the BBC haven’t hit maintenance budgets. Two lift technicians were called out to the BBC Oxford HQ in Summertown, but not because the break-down was a two-man job.

Reporter Emma Vardy kept followers informed of the situation via Twitter.

She said: “Lift technician that's fixing BBC Oxford's broken lift is now stuck in there & waiting for another lift technician to come out & release him.”

Let’s hope the organisation as a whole can manage to summon up its own metaphorical “second technician” to mend the wounds in its relationship with the public.

WHEN life gives you melons, you know you’ve got friends in the union. At least that’s what county council leader Ian Hudspeth discovered this Christmas.

The county council branch of UNISON gave Mr Hudspeth two melons as a Christmas present.

And Mr Hudspeth was so pleased with the gift, he put a picture on Twitter for the world to see.

It’s probably the first time fruit has been presented to a Tory by a lefty organisation without being thrown!