The Insider's swingometer went into overdrive this week after it was revealed Miss Great Britain finalist Amanda Harrington and fellow model Louise Cole were standing as independent candidates in the Henley by-election.

Although they can hardly be described as frontrunners, the lovely lasses' appearance on the ballot paper certainly means the vote a week today will be a keenly fought contest.

Their entry has certainly brightened up an otherwise dull campaign. Well, it will when they appear at the count in bikinis.

Let's just hope the rest of the candidates don't parade around in their swimwear.

Timothy Hallchurch, the Otmoor & Kirtlington county councillor, is in a tizz about plans to build thousands of new homes.

The controversial eco-town planned for Weston Otmoor, which will ultimately be decided by the Government, has met predictable opposition. Mr Hallchurch claims he "hasn't found anyone who backs it". That presumably translates to "everyone I have spoken to already has a house and doesn't want one built next to them". And the argument from those living near the site? One protester said: "We are not against building more houses but..."

Yes, not against more homes, just not in your backyard?

First we had Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, now it's County Hall and the Mystery of the Missing Star.

Labour has challenged Oxfordshire County Council to "come clean" over the real reason it lost its four star status. You might remember the council was once rated excellent. But no more.

Apparently, a report somewhere in the corridors of power says County Hall was docked a star because exam results were not good enough. But Labour thinks there is more to it and councillor Liz Brighouse says the report was misleading as the authority would have retained its four star status - despite poor results - if Ofsted had not raised concerns about child protection. Humm ... more on the missing star saga next week.