From: JNugent on
Chelsea Tractor Man wrote:
> On Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:23:51 +0100, JNugent wrote:
>
>> It was introduced because the Minister, non-driver Barbara Castle, couldn't
>> get her head round the modern world.
>
> if it was all a labour plot, how did they manage to get other countries to
> comply. This envy based labour plot nonsense is one of the siliest things
> (which takes some doing) I have read here.

"Labour"?

Who mentioned "Labour"?

I mentioned Barbara Castle, a non-driver. Giving a non-driver the transport
prortfolio in the second half of the twentieth century was an insult to the
public.
From: Brimstone on

"JNugent" <jenningsltd(a)fastmail.fm> wrote in message
news:8bj34hF1udU2(a)mid.individual.net...

> I mentioned Barbara Castle, a non-driver. Giving a non-driver the
> transport prortfolio in the second half of the twentieth century was an
> insult to the public.

Do you also expect the transport secretary to be an experienced railway
man/woman, or an airline pilot or a ship's master etc etc?

If not, then why do you expect the person to be able to drive a car?


From: Adrian on
"Brimstone" <brimstone(a)hotmail.com> gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying:

>> I mentioned Barbara Castle, a non-driver. Giving a non-driver the
>> transport prortfolio in the second half of the twentieth century was an
>> insult to the public.

> Do you also expect the transport secretary to be an experienced railway
> man/woman, or an airline pilot or a ship's master etc etc?
>
> If not, then why do you expect the person to be able to drive a car?

Probably because it's the form of transport which most directly affects
the average citizen of the UK.

In addition, the ubiquity of driving licences means that any adult
without a licence usually has a good reason not to have one - it may be a
perfectly legitimate reason (nobody would have commented upon Blunkett
not holding one, if ever he'd had the Transport job), or it may be an
indication of a specific mindset.
From: JNugent on
Brimstone wrote:
>
> "JNugent" <jenningsltd(a)fastmail.fm> wrote in message
> news:8bj34hF1udU2(a)mid.individual.net...
>
>> I mentioned Barbara Castle, a non-driver. Giving a non-driver the
>> transport prortfolio in the second half of the twentieth century was
>> an insult to the public.
>
> Do you also expect the transport secretary to be an experienced railway
> man/woman, or an airline pilot or a ship's master etc etc?
>
> If not, then why do you expect the person to be able to drive a car?

The ability to drive a car is not like being the captain of an airliner or a
ship's master. It is an ordinary, everyday, skill which one can reasonably
expect anyone of sound senses and sound mind to have accomplished.

From: Brimstone on

"JNugent" <jenningsltd(a)fastmail.fm> wrote in message
news:8bj53dFdtkU1(a)mid.individual.net...
> Brimstone wrote:
>>
>> "JNugent" <jenningsltd(a)fastmail.fm> wrote in message
>> news:8bj34hF1udU2(a)mid.individual.net...
>>
>>> I mentioned Barbara Castle, a non-driver. Giving a non-driver the
>>> transport prortfolio in the second half of the twentieth century was an
>>> insult to the public.
>>
>> Do you also expect the transport secretary to be an experienced railway
>> man/woman, or an airline pilot or a ship's master etc etc?
>>
>> If not, then why do you expect the person to be able to drive a car?
>
> The ability to drive a car is not like being the captain of an airliner or
> a ship's master. It is an ordinary, everyday, skill which one can
> reasonably expect anyone of sound senses and sound mind to have
> accomplished.
>
Whose expectation would this be and what has having a driving licence got to
do with formulating transport policy?