North's ex-Labour MP inspires Cameron's car clampdown
You'd think the political influence of most Labour MPs was now non-existent on the new Government's policies.
Especially MPs who stood down at the election.
Yet one former honourable member from our patch does appear to have played a significant part in influencing a key part of David Cameron's "New Politics".
seems to have been instrumental in the rule changes on ministerial cars.
It all stems from his recently-published political diaries, .
In there he writes about his time as a junior minister and the battle he had to go through to ditch his ministerial car.
On one occasion, he was amazed when a car with not one but two drivers travelled all the way up from Whitehall to Sunderland with some trivial papers that he believed could have easily been sent by post.
They told him they'd also be driving back in a few days time to pick the same papers up.
He had to fight pretty hard then to try and avoid using the car, and he tried to persuade his government colleagues that all ministers should follow suit.
But he came across resistance both amongst the government and the civil service. Resistance that meant most ministers kept their cars - Durham North's Kevan Jones being one notable exception.
Mr Mullin also describes how the whole system was dedicated to increasing the use of the cars rather than minimising mileage.
Drivers relied on overtime to top up meagre wages, so were only too keen to turn up at any time to ferry ministers round.
Chris Mullin remembers some ministers would agree to be driven long distances back to their constituencies merely to earn their drivers some extra cash.
It seems all that was taken in by one particularly avid reader of Mr Mullin's diaries - David Cameron.
He told Chris Mullin a few months before taking office that having read his book, he .
And .
But for how long?
, Chris Mullin believes it won't be long before the ministerial car bites back.
Just wait for the first time a minister leaves important papers on a train, he warns, and see then how strong the Government's determination is to end the era of the Prius minister!
I'm Richard Moss, the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's Political Editor for the North East and Cumbria. Welcome to my irreverent - but hopefully insightful - northern take on reporting politics for Look North and the Politics Show.
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