Huskisson - a politician for our times

More from 'Eleven Minutes Late', Matthew Engel's new book on the history of the railways.

With a bowler tip to Roger Cox in The Scotsman:

Huskisson's fate, argues Engel, is symptomatic of the disastrous relationship that has always existed in this country between railways and politicians.

"Confronted by the need to take a decision involving transport," writes Engel, "Huskisson suffered precisely the same mental block that was to afflict just about every British politician from that day to this. He dithered, he panicked, he got it spectacularly wrong."

Aye, that about sums it up - amateurs the lot of 'em.

And it might be almost forgivable if they weren't so damned fond of troughing at our expense.