Cars for MPs

Is Gordon Brown the first prime minister who can’t drive since, well, since Asquith?

Is Gordon Brown the first prime minister who can’t drive since, well, since Asquith? Hard to imagine the 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith mastering a non-synchromesh gearbox. His successor and rival, Lloyd George, was out of office for 23 years and lived until 1945, so had plenty of time to learn; but neither cars nor driving are indexed in John Grigg’s definitive biography. In those days he wouldn’t have had to pass a test, of course, and anyway motoring (motorism to early enthusiasts) was such a minority pursuit that perhaps it shouldn’t be expected of pre-war prime ministers.

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Druin Burch

Lucy Letby and the killer nurse I worked with

It’s a little like inquiring about their adulteries: who was the last prime minister to have done the deed while in office? Harold Wilson’s and John Major’s well-known affairs were pre-office.