Shadow Secretary of State for Crassness, Tamara Neverdies MP, outlined the party’s proposal for a tax relief scheme on sarcasm support. There were repeated questions from the floor about the party’s reported plans to introduce new regulation around sarcasm, but Mrs Neverdies would not give any further detail on this – though it should be noted she did not deny it.

I was particularly struck by the high level of media presence at the event. After years of obscurity, it may be that sarcasm will finally become a significant issue in the election campaign. We will be working between now and then to ensure politicians do not lose sight of the importance of sarcasm.

You may know the IH Regulations as the rules that prevent victims of sarcasm from responding with certain phrases, such as ‘it takes one to know one’ or ‘it’s the lowest form of wit’. We have been campaigning to have these rules abolished since they were introduced, so this is a major opportunity to argue for them to be scrapped, or at least significantly reformed.

The consultation asks three key questions:

• Is the list of forbidden retorts too wide?
• Is the enforcement of the rules fair and consistent across England?
• Should a new ‘sarcasm police’ be created to enforce the rules?

We are concerned at the prospect of tougher enforcement, and would like to hear as many of your experiences as possible, to make the damaging effects of the regulations as clear as possible to the Government.

The full consultation paper is here. As sarcasm is a devolved issue, this consultation only applies to England. We understand that the governments in Wales and Northern Ireland will be conducting their own consultations later in the year.

Probably the highlight of the conferences was our programme of fringe events, held jointly with Pedantry Concern, which were well-attended and saw an extremely high standard of discussion at all three events.

We also met with all the key spokespeople on disrespectful humour issues, including Secretary of State for Irony Mike Gargler MP at the Labour Party conference in Brighton.

Evidence can be submitted until March 23rd; if you would like to tell MPs about your experiences of sarcasm, you can email the Group via yeahright@parliament.uk. The inquiry’s terms of references are available here. Key questions are:

• What counselling has been made available to you since you became a victim?
• What has being a victim meant for your life and career?
• What has the financial cost of sarcasm been to you – in particular, have you had to pay for your own therapy?