Given how little seems to change when the music stops in the Cabinet Room and all the ministers scramble for new chairs, I’m not convinced that changing the minister changes anything.

The ministers are acting on briefing papers prepared by either party “researchers” or civil servants. Think back to the first episode of “Yes Minister” – the civil servants didn’t know who would be the minister but they knew there would be a minister. Their job continues regardless.

For example, “someone” wants ID cards. Every opposition party has campaigned against them, but when they win an election the tune always changes. Why? Could it be that the department wants them, for reasons I’m not going to speculate on here, and therefore only provides the minister with options which involve having ID cards?

But I digress. We need politicians who have experience in the real world.
The only serious way forwards I can think of is for local parties to pick candidates from their own areas with such experience and not to accept professional politicians from central office.

I thought this nonsense would be put on the back burner once the deeply stupid totalitarian thug John Reid returned to the backbenches. But evidently I was wrong.

If politicians had to wait in line with everyone else, they wouldn’t even think of imposing crap like this on the travelling public.

The question now is, is there anything we can do to stop it?

Mind you, if the station only has a few departures a week they probably have the time to do all the security checks.

What worries me is the idea that people should be discouraged from parking bicycles at railway stations on security grounds. How can this be justified when one simple thing we need to do to save the planet is encourage people not to use private cars?