Just like South Africa

Norman Baker, transport minister, seems have a rather inflated opinion of his role of making the buses run on time under David Cameron. Speaking to undercover Daily Telegraph reporters he said that when thinking of his position he ‘always think[s] in South African terms’. That is worrying enough, but he went on to say ‘should you be Nelson Mandela, outside the system, campaigning for it to be changed, or should you be Helen Suzman, who’s one of my political heroes actually…She got stuck in there in the South African parliament in the apartheid days as the only person there to oppose it... she stood up and championed that from inside.’ Though Cameron’s government is right-wing, this is a bizarre piece of misrepresentation from a coalition ally. As we are yet to witness ‘white only’ signs being posted in station toilets across the land it seems Baker’s vanity has run away with him. However, given this is the same man who, whilst in opposition, claimed that ‘any reasonable person looking at the evidence would, at the very least, agree that further investigation’ into the death of David Kelly was needed and that it was possible ‘a tiny cabal within the British Establishment commissioned’ his assassination, the only surprising thing about the transport secretary is that he remains gainfully employed.