Alan Duncan spotted at Cornerstone party

Last night was the annual Cornerstone Group drinks party, hosted by MPs John Hayes and Edward Leigh.

Alan Duncan was one of 40 MPs present and certainly the most surprising guest. Mr Duncan famously called Cornerstone the Tombstone group and lambasted the party's Taliban tendency. Who says the Tories are not now one big and happy family?

Resplendent in imperial purple, guest of honour Lady Thatcher was also greeted by about 20 PPCs. Just about everyone present wanted a photograph of them meeting the woman described by Edward Leigh MP, the Cornerstone co-chairman, as our greatest peacetime Prime Minister. Women were much on her mind as she told the guests, many of whom were female candidates, that Parliament badly needed more women. Certainly, it needs more women like her.

Tim Montgomerie

> The next generation of Conservative MPs cut their teeth during the Thatcher years