Twelve hours is a long time in politics…

There’s an argument that today’s politicians lack industry experience, that - because most of them are well educated, go straight into Government after University and work as Government advisers before becoming junior ministers and, eventually, ministers - they never actually experience what it’s like to work in education or banking or whatever it is they oversee as ministers.

What’s worse though is when they do that Ali G thing and try to get the common man to be a politician, because they think he will connect with the people…

Wednesday 9 February at 18:30, TalkSport broadcast the following exchange between Adrian Durham and Darren Gough:

Darren Gough: “It annoys me that I’m not allowed to say ‘innit’. Why do I have to say ‘isn’t it’ when it’s quicker to say ‘innit’. It’s like when I’m on Twitter and I don’t put a comma in, or when I put ‘their’ instead of ‘there’. People always pick you up on it and I think the spelling police are so annoying out there. Chill out. What’s the big deal?”

Adrian Durham: “It’s important because you should set an example to your kids. It’s important that they can spell properly.”

Darren Gough: “Absolute rubbish. What rubbish. I spend £13,000 a term in school fees to make sure my kids can spell. Why should I have to teach them as well? I educate them in other ways. I educate them in life. The biggest education in life is the education of life… You don’t need to spell any more. Most people have got a job these days on a computer and it has a spell check. You don’t need it. When I write a letter I just write it like a text. I don’t bother with all them capitals and stuff and spelling. I just get straight to the point… I hate all these spelling police. I’m not interested what people say about my spelling.”

Thursday morning, the Telegraph [and numerous other papers] reports:

David Cameron has asked Darren Gough, the former England cricketer, to stand as a Conservative MP. He has been asked to stand in the constituency of Barnsley which has until now been a Labour safe seat.

The Prime Minster called Gough, 40, personally to broach the idea but the sportsman initially thought it was a prank phone call and hung up, according to reports. Another Tory MP called him back to say that the offer to take part in the March 3 by-election was real.

However the former Yorkshire and England star, who won TV's Strictly Come Dancing in 2005, decided that his other commitments made him too busy to be an MP. Instead he will campaign for the Conservatives in the March 3 by-election in Barnsley Central, triggered by the resignation of former Labour MP Eric Illsley, who faces sentencing today for fiddling parliamentary expenses.

I sugest thay make im educashon minster, innit.