Scrapping the first-past-the-post system has been an article of faith for his party for decades, even if AV falls far short of the full proportional representation favoured by Liberal Democrats.

Sununu and his wife, Nancy, recently were named to the honorary post of Hampton Falls' hog reeve, complete with a swearing-in ceremony and a badge.

Yesterday afternoon, a forum post titled “Elderly falls in the middle of the street, many passerby do not dare to help” appeared on Xinghua City 400 (400.com.cn) website.