There's a jolly good chance we're going to end up with a hung
parliament the week after next. And the possibilities of that
pick'n'mix variation on normality have got the whole country more
excited than a fat kid in a sweetshop. Other publications have
sucked all the fun out of what it could mean - so instead of
rehashing the same old diatribe, we hereby present to you:
the opportunity to pick your government dream
team. Forget fantasy football - say hello to minister
magic. After all, it might actually happen! (Kind of.)
We've come up with a few suggestions below - now it's
over to you. Write your comments below, and let's pick the
government dream team! Feel free to go for whoever you want - we've
tended towards entrepreneurs simply because we love them, but we're
open to sports stars, slebs, et al.
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs: Eddie Izzard
Partly on the basis of this sketch, but also because he is so good at
languages and understanding cultural subtleties (a vital asset in
our dream Sec of State) he does stand-up in German and French as
well as English. Also because he wants to get into politics - which would be
amazing. He is also very, very wise underneath all that hilarity.
We kid you not.
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
Jamie Oliver
Jamie really does set a fine example for us all. He proves you
can build a mega-business that still helps people every step of the
way. He's waded into the political arena boldly already, showing
he's not afraid to tackle the biggest issues facing the food
industry: whether that's making kids healthier or saving battered
chickens. Basically, he's a downright decent lad who wants to use
his achievements to help people and clean up the nastier sides of
the industry. All stuff the government should have been doing all
along. We like the way he's using technology too - check out
this feature on his iPhone app to see what we mean.
Secretary of State for Transport: Andrew Valentine and Brett
Akker, founders of Streetcar
We love Streetcar - it's basically car-sharing on a massive
scale. You join the club then just pick up a car from a street
nearby and only pay when you need to use it. Every Streetcar
replaces, on average, 26 privately-owned cars. Put that in your
efficiency and environmental pipe and smoke it! If the government
had thought this baby up, they would have saved the car-driving
public hundreds per year in vehicle tax, insurance, servicing et
al, plus the one-off cost of a car, rather than making drivers in
major cities pay more through congestion charging. At the same
time, they'd be driving down emissions in a major way. Pretty
smart. And popular with the people - Streetcar has 75,000
members.
Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
Smarta's founder Shaa Wasmund. Well, we would say that, wouldn't
we.
Now over to you! Write your ideas in the comments
below... (or find out more about the election and what it
means for small businesses.)