Sometimes comedy spots the zeitgeist before it becomes the zeitgeist. In Edinburgh this summer both Bridget Christie and Daniel Sloss had routines about the absurdity of tampons being taxed as a luxury item. This week UK MPs voted against a move to make the government cut tax on sanitary products, dubbed the "tampon tax". The Finance Bill amendment, which would have forced a negotiation with the EU for a reduction in the 5% VAT rate, was rejected by 305 to 287 votes. The Labour government previously cut the rate from 17.5% to 5%, but was prevented from going any lower by EU rules. This time round all the Conservative MPs, including all the female Conservative MPs, voted against the proposed amendment.

Bridget Christie's routine can be seen as part of her show which comes to the Leicester Square Theatre from Nov 16 to Dec 2. Daniel Sloss has been doing his routine since June and it is part of his current show, Dark, which tours the UK from November 18. Dates here. As Sloss says in his show, "As a man I can walk into an SDI clinic and get condoms for free on the off chance that I'm going to make a mess...yet women have to pay for something to control something that is absolutely definitely going to happen..."

Watch a clip from Daniel Sloss's tampon tax routine here.