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When politicians can't cope with hugely complicated matters, they often rope in outsiders to do the talking, and much of the dirty work, for them. Bob Geldof does it with famine, Bono's area of specialty is Third World debt and the latest unlikely character to dabble in the political world is Jamie Oliver. Don't laugh. He's still a young man, but can already consider himself to be a highly successful and wealthy chef, entrepreneur, television presenter, employer and celebrity.

By Mike Rutherford

02nd March 2005

True, he's an attention seeker who thrives on the free publicity which helps his business activities. But he also happens to be a deep-thinking bloke who knows his stuff, is brilliant at highlighting problems and even better at coming up with solutions. Indeed that's what he's currently proving in his TV series, Jamie's School Dinners on Channel 4.

Oliver has a healthy disrespect for politicians. He casually addresses Prime Minister Tony Blair and Secretary of State for Education Ruth Kelly by their first names, and isn't afraid to give constructive criticism. It's a great arrangement: the politicians know nothing about serving healthy lunches to millions of school kids on a daily basis, while the chef knows everything. So he talks, they listen, and things - hopefully - improve.

What's all this got to do with driving, you ask? Plenty. Blair's administration has proved over the last eight years that it can't handle the car or the manufacturers, not to mention the 50 million drivers and passengers. And since New Labour is clueless in this area, it's time for the politicians to wheel in another celebrity who knows his stuff and isn't afraid to speak his mind. Enter Jeremy Clarkson.

He's the only person for the job. He's out there on the roads driving, observing, commenting and buying cars with his own money. Car-related problems are important to him, but he's even more interested in resolving them. And, as I discovered when he and I briefly met Bill Clinton a few years ago, he's comfortable with top politicians.

True, Clarkson must tone down his views on congestion charging. Just because he can afford it, he forgets that millions can't. He also needs to ditch his misguided hatred for diesels. But as he gets older, wiser and more experienced, he's the right person to front an Oliver-style TV show aimed at getting things done. Can you think of a better person to tell the likes of John Prescott and Alistair Darling what they're doing wrong? It would make fantastic television and, more importantly, would embarrass politicians into listening and acting on behalf of the UK's 50 million car users - most of which are voters.

And that brings me on to my next point. With a General Election around the corner, it's time for Labour, the Conservatives and Lib Dems to come clean on their plans for congestion charging. Will the next Government introduce schemes outside of London during their term in office? Or to put it another way, will they or won't they hit motorists with these substantial costs? If every party that's about to publish a manifesto doesn't spell out exactly where it stands on the issue of congestion charging, we're being cheated.

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