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An apology to red trousered lunatic and ex Mayor of Bristol George Ferguson

Tom Winnifrith
Sunday 31 July 2016

I have on a number of occasions pointed out that the red trousered, car hating lunatic George Ferguson was a quite appalling mayor of my home City of Bristol. I feel, however, that I owe Mr Ferguson an apology.

Mr Ferguson's hatred of the car resulted in Bristol being a place where one was always snagged in roadworks and where parking in the City centre was either impossible or prohibitively expense. This did not effect rich folk living in central areas such as Clifton but hammered poorer folk who can only afford to live further out. It is the sort of regressive poor bashing thought-set that sanctimonious and rich, Guardian reading liberals like Ferguson adore.

I had hitherto suggested that Mr Ferguson's hatred of the car was unsurpassed in Bristol and that made him the worst possible candidate for Mayor. I apologise to Mr Ferguson for that canard. For it appears that his successor, a Labour bore called Marvin, hates the car even more and is now plaguing the City with even more roadworks.

It seems that with Bristol Mayors, as with Archbishops of Canterbury, you think the incumbent is woeful and the worst in history. Then he goes and within weeks of the next chap taking office you look back on the old guy as being some sort of heroic visionary.

Bring back that lunatic Rowan Williams for Archbishop, bring back Red Trousers as Mayor.

I don't often apologise but here goes.

Mr George Ferguson's hatred of the car is almost unsurpassed in Bristol and that makes him, among the 432,000 citizens of Bristol, the second worst possible candidate for Mayor after Marvin "boring" Rees. I apologise for suggesting that Mr Ferguson was the worst possible candidate for Mayor among the 432,000 people of Bristol. that was clearly not quite true.

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About Tom Winnifrith
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Tom Winnifrith is the editor of TomWinnifrith.com. When he is not harvesting olives in Greece, he is (planning to) raise goats in Wales.
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