This three-wheeled car plan may be Reform's most idiotic

Lee Anderson is a Reform UK MP and loudmouth who has made a reputation for himself by saying daft and offensive things.

- SEAN O'GRADY

Only yesterday, he was trumpeting the fact that he’d spent a previous job at the Citizens Advice Bureau “gaming the benefits system” - just the sort of upright character you’d hope to represent the country.

But his latest - proposing that people with disabilities be leased special little “invalid carriages” as they once were in distant, less enlightened times - is a doozy. Did he really say that? Yes. Here’s the quote about the much-maligned Motability Scheme: “It’s an absolute scandal. I remember, back in the day, if you were on disability and you wanted a car from the state, it was a blue three-wheeler. Anybody remember those? What’s wrong with that? Let’s go back to that.”

For the record, Lee, here is why “bringing back” the NHS invalid carriage is a stupid idea. First, the original “Invacar”, short for “invalid carriage”, was primarily designed for ex-servicemen and women who’d been injured in the Second World War. They had one seat, were tiny, and were not suitable for the wider range of disabilities that we see today.