I HEARD in my local pub the other day that the BBC were thinking of producing a new version of The Last Of The Summer Wine. They were thinking of calling the show The Last Of The Good Times For Joe Public.

The lead character was to be a pompous rich idiot who thinks he knows it all but always end up with egg on his face.

As the character was to be appropriately called Foggy, David Cameron was to be a shoein for the role.

The part of Compo required someone who could portray a walking, economic disaster-zone.

No problems there then. Just put George Osborne in a pair of scruffy wellies with a piece of string to tie up his breeches wearing a grin, the likes of which any Cheshire cat would be proud.

But when it came to trying to balance the team with a nondescript character who had little more than honesty and strong moral principles to offer, they had to abandon the show.

Apparently the scriptwriter had insisted on this character being called Clegg.

Who would believe such a thing?

Derek Hall, Hartlepool.