Any colour as long as it’s red writes Andy Mitchell

When it comes to car buying, I’m no expert. I know what I like and, like most blokes, it remains a dream. I’ve driven a company car for the last 25 years so I’m used to getting what I’m given. Colour wise, in the 90s, we went through phases of them being white with bright pink stickers (gorgeous and indeed memorable), and then things calmed down into a more regular corporate black or silver.

So given that the chance to choose my own colour of car hasn’t really been an option, I admire those who go and order new cars in their favourite colour. What I didn’t learn until this week is that some people live their political lives through the colour of their cars!

A good friend of mine, who happens to be a Labour stalwart, is taking delivery of his new Ford.. and yes you’ve guessed it... it is vivid red.

Now there’s nothing wrong in choosing a colour because it looks fabulous, and bright red is certainly an eye catcher and one I’d probably be tempted to go for myself. No, my point here is that, in much the same way that the colour of my car is dictated by someone else at corporate level, I found it amazing that given the chance to choose ANY colour, my political friend chose red, because it is primarily the colour of his calling.

I felt that in itself might be a bit restricting, but my friend told me that the next one would be red, and the one after that. Self imposed restriction in the face of choice.

Some will be old enough to remember when we had Liberal Democrat politicians, yet I don’t remember seeing any tearing around in sunshine yellow hatchbacks. Do the Conservatives always buy blue cars? What if they like red, but daren’t buy one in case people think they’re secretly Labour supporters in the car park at Morrisons?

What if politicians see a car they really like but then can’t buy it because the colour doesn’t fit in with their doctrine?

Do they beat themselves up because they missed the chance to buy what they’d always wanted.

For the record, I drive a black car. I’ll leave you to suggest who I might vote for.