Error parsing XSLT file: \xslt\FacebookOpenGraph.xslt BIRD'S EYE VIEW: No, 'slippery' Geoff won't be a fan of hooning around
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BIRD'S EYE VIEW: No, 'slippery' Geoff won't be a fan of hooning around

Date: 17 October 2008

Guy Bird is our editor-at-large and political columnist

Another month, another transport secretary, but don't expect Mr Hoon, a cyclist and son of a railwayman, to be any more pro-car than his predecessor

When was the last time you heard any politician admitting to letting rip in a track-day sports car or espousing the joy of driving on an open road of a quiet Sunday? It doesn't happen.

And, dear reader, I've already found evidence to suggest Geoff Hoon - the new secretary of state for transport after Ruth Kelly's surprise resignation at the end of the Labour conference last month - is no different, despite his recklessly go-faster surname.

The only reference to transport in his latest local constituency report for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire is to you guessed it - cycling. In the almost full-page article Hoon says he took up cycling "a couple of years ago and regularly rides along local cycle paths" before delivering the sanctimonious pay-off: "It's a great way of keeping fit and of reducing my carbon footprint."

To go with the informative article that says he wants to improve facilities for cyclists, is a big picture of Hoon - wearing a cycle helmet of course - with the wonderfully imaginative picture caption: "Geoff Hoon cycling."

Now I love a two-wheeled manoeuvre on the right occasion for speed, fun, fitness - and also pollution-reduction - but there are plenty of times when you need to drive places. Hoon must surely respect the privacy a chauffeured vehicle affords given the number of people he's offended in his highly controversial ministerial career.

A Labour MP since 1992, he's held various high profile roles from leader of the House of Commons to most recently chief whip but his most important role was defence secretary. Conflicts in Kosovo (1999), Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003) all took place within his six-year watch - including the infamous Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Iraq war justification debate.

Within that time he has, allegedly, been described in a variety of ways. On the plus side a "safe pair of hands" alongside phrases such as 'non-descript' is about as good as it seems to get. On the minus side, 'slippery' and 'dishonest' - regarding the Dr David Kelly affair - and as a "two-faced lying git" by the father of two sons killed in Iraq are less complimentary.

After that post, transport must seem to Hoon like a walk (or cycle) in the park.

The first test of his political mettle will come soon when the city of Manchester holds a referendum on congestion charging this December. If approved, a weekday peak-time system could be in place by 2013, but with 1.8 million 'signing up' to the broader anti-road pricing online petition, opposition could be fierce.

Hoon has a reputation for being an arch-stonewaller in debate and if nothing else is a survivor. Indeed, if one political commentator's recent character assessment of Hoon is accurate - "he seems like the type of person who will push ahead in whatever direction he is aimed at" - Brown might reckon he has just the man he needs.



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