Claire Short's Lada Riva Estate

The true story of what Blair's Babes were driving back in '97

RIP John Prescott who left this mortal coil a few weeks ago. In some ways he was one of us, in that he liked cars in general and Jaguars in particular. However, a closer examination of what he said before and when first in government back in ‘97 might not have been especially car friendly. That’s where I came in as a freelancer working for Her Majesty’s Independent newspaper. They later regretted ever commissioning ‘What Labour Drive’, but I thought it was important to know just what we were letting ourselves in for 27 years ago. Indeed, dear reader, I did exactly the same this year (2024), where I attempted to find out what Labour were driving. Except that it all seems to be completely classified and any they won’t talk to me. I may have another go, but it seems all my greatest writing hits happened decades ago. I won’t let that stop me wittering on.

If you want to read briefly how I got told off by the Deputy Prime Minister, then take a look at this https://www.freecarmag.com/john-prescott-wants-to-have-a-word-with-you

Otherwise what we are up to this week is going through the original article which caused so much trouble, but more importantly, seeing what we can buy and drive like it’s 1997 and we have just got a ministerial portfolio. You’ll need somewhere to put your red despatch box and it is certainly interesting to see what our betters drove, or at least admitted to back then.

The original words are in Italic and I will interrupt with the standard upright Arial font.

What Labour Drove in 1997

Labour have told us that they want to make public transport so good that we will want to give up our cars. However, details about this double decker/Inter City carrot are sketchy whereas the stick being used to beat the poor old motorist is the size of a lamp post. Apparently, us motoring tax payers, are addicted to our cars and John Prescott in particular has sworn to end the need for second car families. The methods proposed include emissions checks and an increasingly punitive car tax regime prove that is politically skewed to take a pop at the poor old motorist. Indeed, because our very own PC government is on the offensive automotively, it seems perfectly reasonable to ask those responsible for implementing these policies, just how they manage to get around when not being comfortably chauffeured about in the back of a ministerial Rover, or Jag. So is it new Labour, new cars, or old Labour, old bus pass? It is important to know what a Government Minister and Members of Parliament are on the receiving end of when it comes to mileage allowances. According to the House of Commons information department it is 48.4 pence per mile for the first 2000 miles, and 22.3 pence per mile thereafter. Plus there is a good incentive to give up the car, thanks to free first class rail travel.

The obvious place to start enquiries about privately motorised ministers has to be the Ministry of Transport who to their credit were eager to help. They revealed that Roads Minister Baroness Hayman piloted a Honda Shuttle. Now this is a large people carrier which was justified on the grounds that the Baroness has “A large family.”

Lets get a people carrier, but not just any old people shifter, but a reliable one. The first issue is that the chances of finding a ‘90s Shuttle in these great British Isles are close to zero. It’s not even a remotely tempting Japanese import. So it is at times like these we turn to the wonderful www.theparking-cars.co.uk website. This turns up several options in the European regions, just a ferry ride away for just a pocketful of Euros. It is just a question of whether we go for a ‘97 example or something earlier that might fit the new Minister narrative better?

We are in Bulgaria, and I want you to imagine that we are looking at a 1995 1.6i apparently imported from Switzerland with 133K kilometres on the clock. It’s an earlier version with the prettier Civic front end. Best of all it is a thoroughly useful four wheel drive model. Yours for £3500 Euros. Slog loves it, so gives it a four.

At the lair of Deputy PM John Prescott, The Department of Environment, they promised to call back, but never did. That didn’t matter because Mr Prescott is Parliament’s most famous Jaguar driver. When asked by a Conservative MP how a Socialist could drive such a quintessential Home Counties and Tory motor, he simply replied, “I turn the key.” Now Mr. Prescott doesn’t even have to do that, there’s a government driver to steer his much newer Jag and also a Golf parked on his large driveway. So much then for the ‘one car family.’

Yes we could do a Golf, but where is the fun in that? How about a squarial XJ40 from 1992. The first one we saw on the Car and Classic website was a 4.0 Sovereign with a low mileage, but seems to have been sold. Instead we are off to Europe again This time we are in Italy looking at another XJ40 which lives in Italy. That makes it left hand drive and on top of that it’s a manual with a 3.2 engine that has covered 147K kilometres with three owners. Here’s the link so you can bid from 8^th December. https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/1992-jaguar-xj40-xj6-32-manual-nvO5a4 Presumably old John would have loved it. Slog does so Five Slogs.

Glenda Jackson, rail Minister and responsible for transport matters in London has a safe and sound Volvo 440. Now that is much more subtle and New Labour than the yuppie BMW 3 series she used to run back in the 1980s and bought from the showroom where I worked.

That’s right I had some inside information. One would presume that the political party policy wonks reckoned that it would look better to be seen in something safe, sensible and rather middle class. That inevitably took me back to the Parking-Cars website which could have sent me back into Europe, except there was a Derbyshire location which pinged me back to Car and Classic. Here I found a 1992 automatic, perfect for getting around Glenda’s North London constituency. 104K miles, a bit light on details, but a year’s MOT and yours for £900. As you don’t see them anymore it’s a four Slogger.

Over at the Privy Council Office the staff seemed to be closet car buffs. “Ministers all drive BMW Z3s” they quipped before calling up Leader of the House, Ann Taylor. “She drives a purple Volvo estate, but we must stress that it is a very nice shade of deep purple.”

More Volvos. A deep purple Volvo estate. I like Volvo estates again. Let’s make it an 850 and the sort of example that no Member of Parliament would even consider. Yet again I am back on Car & Classic and according to the advert just one of 59 Rs left on the road. This ‘96 has done 195K miles and is black not purple. Yours for just over £6,000. Seven owners but a lot to love and there is plenty of room for Slog in the back. It’s been chipped and stuff but at this point I’m beyond caring Five Slogs.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office weren’t so clued up on cars as the Privy Council, but thought that Robin Cook had an old Ford Sierra back up in his Scottish constituency. Presumably that car will be staying with the estranged Mrs Cook, because “Up until four months ago he was perfectly happy using the tube and now he’s got a rather nice ministerial Rover” said a spokesman.

Ford Sierra in Scotland. That’s shorthand for having rusted to dust surely. Based on the 850R example, we could go all Cossie. Instead, well there are not many on the market, just a terrible rotten estate on Ebay for £1500, or a rather decent 1992 1.8LX hatchback from Staverton Cars, also on Ebay. The asking price is £8995. Very rare, but I wouldn’t pay it, you might. A standard three Slogs, but if you want one then it is a five I suppose.

There was a bit of defensiveness at Agriculture, “You might think that a minister would own a very flash car, but no Jack Cunningham shares a very old Ford Mondeo with his wife and in fact he rarely drives at all, preferring to take the train.”

Very old Mondeo is doing a lot of work there, it would only be four years old at most. These days those mark ones are properly rare. But not in Poland

https://www.olx.pl

has a 1996 1.6 with over 200K miles and an LPG conversion for £348 and I’d pay that all day long so it is a five Slog.

More Fords at the Welsh Office, where Ron Davies drives a Ford Granada.

A Welsh Granny. Not sure if it is possible to find one for sale in that specific region. There is some expensive stuff around and I am not looking at the Sweeney style Consuls.. However, on Autotrader here is a private 2.0 Scorpio from 1991with 121K miles. Just two owners a ton of history, that’s £3500. Solid Four Slogger that.

At Overseas Development my question caused a considerable amount of amusement and they played along in an effort to discover just what Claire Short uses when not on ministerial business. “She drives a very old estate car and we think that it might be a Lada, but please don’t quote me on that.” A real Iron Curtain car, how very old Labour if indeed Ms Short does own a Russian built Lada.

Nice idea and we will just go with that, she never told me off so presumably it would have been correct. None in the UK, AutoScout 24 eventually came up trumps though with a dealer flogging an immaculate one owner example first registered in 1984 when the Cold War was still in full effect. €5,300 of those Euros. Baby blue and perfect for Slog to go along for the ride, so we will give it five.

The Department of Education were just as entertained by my question, but mainly because the minister concerned is David Blunkett (he is blind). “We are sure that he would have a go!” said a spokesman alluding to all those well known Stevie Wonder/driving gags. No cars either at the Treasury. Gordon Brown (has one eye) doesn’t drive apparently, although he still has access to Ministerial wheels of course. Now the fact that Mr. Brown does not have a licence is something which should concentrate motorists minds wonderfully at budget time. Especially when the road fund licence is annually increased and petrol duty gets another hike.

Meanwhile Chief Secretary Alastair Darling was away on holiday in whatever he drives on his days off. I got a long lecture about the security implications of revealing the identity of Ministers cars from some self important bod at the Trade and Industry Department. The thing is though that the President of the Board of Trade Margaret Beckett is an enthusiastic caravanner, so she must be easily identified by her much larger parking space at the Palace of Westminster. Anyway, Mrs Beckett’s car also has a tow bar and at the very least a two litre engine if she is not to cause too many environmentally unfriendly tail backs.

Equally snooty were the Health, Social Security and Ministries of Culture who all refused point blank to indulge me. I thought that the Conservative Party might be able to help me if they had a black book full of millionaire socialist Ferrari owners, but they didn’t. Instead I spoke to their front bench spokesman Christopher Chope. “They can drive whatever they want I don’t think one can be prescriptive about that.” On John Prescott though “I was astonished by his second car outburst. I don’t think a Conservative politician would ever have got away with saying that. Attacking the two car household is overlooking the realities of traveling around Britain.” On Labour’s anti car policies, “well it is very easy for politicians to say one thing, then do another, because they are protected from any road cost increases with their allowances.”

Let’s finish where we started with an MPV a run of mill, people’s people shifter that old Tone packed the family inside. Every single one in the UK minicabbed to death, family trashed and used by cash in hand builders. So off to Germany again and here’s a fuel hungry V6 in Ghia trim for £1300 quids. Three Slogs for fun

Car enthusiasts seem to be a rarity amongst ministers and most have taken their lead from our Ford Galaxy driving Prime Minister Tony Blair by sticking to popular, bland and efficient motor cars. Just like the rest of us really. This may be New Labour, but it is the same old motoring values. Despite what they tell us, the conclusion has to be that the Government are just as reliant and dare one say, addicted, to cars as we are.

Not sure what we learnt from this bit of time travel and the availability of ‘90s cars. I can of course highly recommend that Ruppert’s Bangerpedia 1990 – 2000 would be your best companion at these difficult times. Also the complete ‘What Labour Drive’ story and lots of others taken from my chequered motoring career can be found in Kerbcrawler.

I am supposed to write a ‘Why we drive” piece which we have run out of space for yet again. At least it puts off actually writing it. Wherever we are in time and space next time, thanks for reading and see you then.

Please note that all images are copyright of the seller and the website and are intended for illustration only, please find the vehicles listed and make your own enquiries.

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