The Today Programme's Christmas Repeal has been seeking listeners views on a favourite current liberal topic - which laws should be repealed.

If you missed the result, follow this link, which shows that the runaway winner was the recent Hunting Act.

However, the result was so runaway that many sensed that the result might not have been a true sampling of the public's opinion:

"A total of 52.8 per cent of the telephone and internet votes went to repealing the hunting ban. It was well ahead of the 29.7 per cent of the voters who wanted to scrap the 1972 European Communities Act, which took Britain into what is now the European Union.

The huge vote raised suspicions that the annual political parlour game for devotees of the combative morning show had been subject to unsportingly effective campaigning."

 "Row as 'Today' programme's poll is won by fox-hunting alliance"  The Independent

Anyone genuinely surprised that such a poll might be hijacked needs to go on swift introductory course on 21st Century lobbying.  The real surprise of the poll was that the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act did so badly (attracting just 1.6% of votes cast)  However, after recent events the Pit Bull Terrier lobby will have its work cut out to build up a voting machine as effective as the Countryside Alliance's.

Also in today's news

• Patrick Gray, director of Oxford Policy Research, proposes an elegant and classical solution to Lords reform:

"I suggest that 20 names be selected at random each year from those who voted in the previous election. An opt-out should be offered for any who do not wish to be considered. Those selected would serve for 10 years. Training would be provided and a salary sufficient to make service attractive to people from all walks of life, but not so high as to make it irresistible to those with no serious interest in public affairs."

Patrick Gray, The Financial Times

• Ming's interview on the Today programme this morning seems to be attracting interest - both the BBC and the Guardian (with the help of PA) are currently running his comments as their main political story.