The Independent Is Obviously Impressed By Her Platform

Tomorrow is the London mayoral election. So, unsurprisingly, Sunday, the Independent shared with readers an illuminating profile of a non-contender the Green party candidate for London mayor.

In the wide-ranging piece, readers were enlightened that Ms Siân (pronounced Shan) Berry has absolutely no personal experience of what it would seem many Londoners (some illegally) have done within the last decade to take up city residence:

…she hasn’t flown on holiday for 10 years…

We were also told she possesses one of the most divisive of school backgrounds insofar as the Indy would be concerned:

…went to Pate’s grammar school in Cheltenham…

So divisive, in fact, that in one article on grammars, the paper even felt the need to tell us twice.

Best of all, the Indy was quite impressed that she has the political experience to run a major world city that makes Sen Obama currently look like another Konrad Adenauer:

…claims to have had no political affiliation before joining the Green Party six years ago, aged 27…

She has almost no chance of winning. (If she does, it will rank as the biggest political upset in the history of the secret ballot.) And her being a member of a party that has even less of a likelihood than the Liberal Democrats (and theirs is already tiny) of ever forming a UK government, would seem to make any future national political aspirations of hers dicey indeed. Still, the paper was obviously taken enough by her to believe her worth that detailed profile.

Yet on what does the paper base it? Her intellect?:

…has an engineering degree from Oxford…

Her fortitude?:

…This morning she was in Mayfair’s Berkeley Square at 7.30am, wearing a pith helmet and beating a drum as part of a stunt demonstration against the Porsche dealership…

Her core issues?:

“My priorities are car clubs, more money for cycle lanes and 20p off public transport!”

Certainly not. The anti-Murdoch, non-sexist, Independent entitles the piece:

Will the woman described as ‘environmental Viagra’ turn us on to the Green Party?

Progressive indeed. We know already that the Independent believes Britain has quite a lot to learn from “Europe”. Yet in this instance perhaps it is a good thing the paper isn’t published in Norway or Denmark.