Cllr. Gavin Ayling

I was watching TV the other day with someone who could never be described as a politico.

Cameron was talking to Brown about the budget. He was making the typical politician attacks which, while silly, had zest.
Brown was being his usual dour, arrogant and wrong self.

And then another chap stood up. He was ignorable at best. I said “He has a lot less fire than the other two doesn’t he?”

And the response?

“Well he’s an old man isn’t he — you can’t expect him to be so fiery”.

The person I was talking to did not know who this gentleman was. The person?

Menzies Campbell.

I spent the weekend in Reading.

When I was studying Engineering at university I had to perform the most difficult mental task I have ever had to — logic. Driving back from Reading today was almost that hard. Before I left I decided I would drive under the speed limit the whole way back.

First, a couple of admissions:
1) To avoid causing a pile-up I twice did 80 for 10 seconds
2) Going down two hills I twice did 72mph.

Now for the ’startling’ statistics:
– I travelled just over 84 miles.
– I overtook a total of exactly 21 cars.
– I overtook many lorries (who are, obviously, mechanically restricted to 60mph)
– I overtook just 12 cars on the A329(M), M3 and M25. I overtook just one on the A329(M) who was slowing to take the M4 exit.
– I overtook 5 cars on the M23.
– I overtook 4 cars on the A23 and A27.

What was the point of me telling you this?

Well, Alistair Darling was on the radio the other day talking about the 70mph limit in relation to the environment. Now, I admit, I used a lot less petrol on my return journey than I did on the way up on Friday evening, but Mr Darling was stating that strict enforcement of the motorway limit was not not- (Update: I am told this was confusing) imposed and that 70 remains the limit as enforced by the police.

It seems odd, then, that almost every politician or person of note that you meet denies breaking the speed limit. Were those twenty-one cars all politicians and policemen?

It also seems to me that there should have been hundreds, if not thousands, of car accidents on the roads I was travelling on if to exceed 70mph is so dangerous.

Finally, it seems ominously strange to me that while the government is apparently under the kosh of the oil lobby (for otherwise we would have been rid of petrol years ago), it is not upping the speed limit to something sensible like 85mph as proposed by Michael Howard before last year’s election. Surely that would be a vote winner?