Even so, this leaves only three weeks for parliamentary debate before the Christmas recess.

ECONOMIST: A country divided about greenery

Then MPs have their traditional debate before the Christmas recess - a chance to raise any subject they like.

BBC: Week ahead

In a statement on the plans released before the Commons rose for the Christmas recess, the Treasury fleshed out the plan a little.

BBC: Brown steps up aid cash moves

The first sessions ends when the Congress breaks for Christmas recess.

FORBES: Move up http://i.forbesimg.com t Move down

Opponents welcomed the money, but said it represented a "U-turn" and attacked Labour's "shambolic" handling of the situation, which saw AMs recalled to the assembly for a vote during the Christmas recess.

BBC: Houses, newport

If this is roughly how things stood before the Christmas recess, events on the government side have now made Mr Ashdown's position even trickier by exposing the fragility of his long-term strategy for the party.

ECONOMIST: Why Paddy will miss Peter most

"I think people at the top sometimes forget that they stand on the shoulders of others, the people at the bottom - the administrative workers, the electricians, the cleaners - without whom there would be no profits for those companies, " he told MPs during a wide-ranging Christmas recess debate on 20 December 2011.

BBC: Hughes urges action on pay inequality