Nicky Haslam, the Eton-educated society interior designer, has made a name for himself as the arbiter of good taste. Examples on his exhaustive list of things that are “common” include signet rings, award ceremonies, heli-skiing and Richard Branson.

There is one surprising thing that has escaped, however: charity shops. At a recent event he wore a fetching mustard corduroy suit which he told me he “bought in a second-hand shop”. 

Haslam shops in Primark, too, once telling me “everything I’m wearing is from Primark – it’s well made and it’s stylish”, adding that “other designer brands are a rip off”. He does draw the line at cheap shoes. That’s obviously a step too far.

Duncan’s fired up 

Westminster Council is midway through a controversial plan to replace 299 antique gas lamps, which bathe the area in a “Dickensian glow”, with modern lighting. Local opposition is growing, and has won the support of ex-foreign minister and political diarist Sir Alan Duncan. 

“They are the most famous street lights in London,” says Sir Alan, “and it reflects very poorly on the council that residents have neither been informed nor consulted. It is about the only classic Georgian residential area left in Westminster. It is often used for filming. It is essential that the original lamp posts remain in place if ever the light source is replaced.”

Other local residents include Jacob Rees-Mogg and the Prince of Wales. Will Sir Alan’s involvement be enough to convince them to break cover?

I spy a payday 

At a Telegraph reader event this week, author Sebastian Faulks was asked which of his books gives him the most pride. He of course answered Birdsong, his First World War novel, and told of its unusual beginnings during a visit to Amiens in France. “I had a tiny little Fiat,” he said. “I didn’t have any paper so I fiddled in the glove department and started scribbling in the drivers’ manual the very words in which I knew this love affair would happen.”

On really important matters, he also revealed which book had made him the most money – his 2008 James Bond spy thriller Devil May Care, billed as “Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming”.

“I did feel when I’d finished Birdsong that I’d written something quite individual,” he said. “But the one that made the most money was the James Bond book. Dear old 007 – that is my pension. Thank you, James.”

Quite the Bona-party

The Conservative old guard joined celebrities this week for the launch of The Imperial Impresario: The Treasures, Trophies & Trivia of Napoleon’s Theatre of Power, a new book by Christopher Joll and Penny Cobham.

Tory grandees including David Mellor (Cobham’s partner) and Jeffrey Archer – who paid a surprise visit after popping in on an errand – rubbed shoulders with cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, conductor Stephen Barlow, his wife Joanna Lumley, and Sotheby’s chairman Lord Dalmeny. 

Joll told me he was unsurprised to see so many politicians at a book launch celebrating Napoleon, “the greatest political showman of all time” and “the man who conquered Europe”. Let’s hope they don’t go getting ideas.

Happy hunting? 

It’s a big day for the Liberal Democrats who are formally opening their campaign HQ for the North Shropshire by-election later today.

Most parties make do with a vacant high-street shop – but the UK’s fourth party has instead decided to set up in an office building in the grounds of Soulton Hall near Wem in Shropshire. The house doubles as a hotel and is set in 500 acres of countryside. Each room “has its own character with unique furniture and many architectural features dating back to the 1500s” and facilities include a helipad, airfield, shooting and stalking. 

If you can’t beat the shire Tories, why not join them?

Peterborough, published every Friday at 7pm, is edited by Christopher Hope, the Telegraph’s chief political correspondent and the author of the daily Chopper’s Politics newsletter. You can reach him at peterborough@telegraph.co.uk