Thought For The Day: Matthew Parris

Were we to freeze-frame a moment on a bus, train or plane and conduct an exhaustive investigation into the lives of everyone thrown randomly and temporarily together there, I bet the proportion who had shoplifted (say) or committed adultery, or taken drugs, kicked the cat or viewed pornographic images might surprise you. It used to be a joke among Tory whips that if someone were to rush into a crowded 1922 Committee meeting of all Conservative backbenchers, and shout “Fly! All is revealed!” about three quarters of them would jump out of the window.

The Times.