A Very Special Sheep

Power has its perils. "Former ministers say they have a difficult time readjusting to public transport", which is not particularly surprising. Slightly more surprising are the Guardian's examples of public transport: the family car of a Conservative and the Rover 800 of Patricia Hewitt, neither of which seems likely to have the characteristic atmosphere of travel by bus, tube or rail, even if Hewitt's Rover did fail to start.

Fifteen years after the event, the sheep that slew Thatcher is still getting pampered at the public expense. Geoffrey Howe has an official car and driver at a cost of some sixty thousand pounds a year - a privilege normally reserved for ex-Prime Ministers. "What makes him so special?" asked the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, Norman Baker. Well, the sheep that slew Thatcher must have some sort of resonance for the long-suffering British public. We can hardly expect such an achievement to pass unacknowledged. In his time, Lord Howe also served as deputy prime minister, a post so vital and responsible that it is now held by John Prescott.

The reason for Lord Howe's special treatment, according to the nonentity himself, is "a prolonged security risk". It is well known that Baroness Thatcher has powerful friends and malleable offspring; perhaps Mark has bankrolled an assassin or two to carry out due retribution once the penny-pinchers have forced Lord Howe back onto public transport.