Carpages.co.uk isn't a website we'd normally frequent. After all we have better things to do in the Londonist offices than browse "the UK's Motoring Search Engine and Portal", things like descaling the kettle or rifling through the bins out the back of the NME's offices.
But when we saw the headline Black Cab Is 'The Glory Of London' we have to admit our interest was peaked, especially when we read on and realised that the House of Lords was involved. You can't go wrong with the Lords can you?
"London’s iconic black cab has been hailed as 'the glory of London' in a House of Lords debate," explains Carpages. "During debate of an amendment to taxi licensing conditions, Lord Davies of Oldham also paid tribute to the 'extraordinary and hugely admired limited turning circles."
Er...what? Hugely admired limited turning circle? We know half the upper house is senile but we didn't think it was this bad.
The report goes on:
Lord Faulkner of Worcester went on to say: "All taxis should be purpose built. The iconic London black cab is the ideal for others to emulate. If all hackney carriages looked like those, the travelling public would be less confused and much safer...."
Well thank God someone finally said it. We've been stumbling around central London for years solely because of the amount of confusion caused by the fact that all cabs aren't identical.
Now, all we know is that these comments were made as part of an Amendment to the Road Safety Bill, other than that it's a bit of a mystery as Carpages just parrots a spokesman from the taxis' manufacturers who is apparently "delighted to have such an endorsement at this level."
So the story has obviously come from a press release sent out by LTI who make the cabs in question, but does this mean that members of the House of Lords are now being paid to endorse certain products during debates?
Can we expect to hear subliminal promotions for soft drinks and cigarettes as things become more advanced? On second thoughts, maybe Stanna stairlifts and incontinence pants might work better.
