FEW of us will miss Chris Huhne who faces jail after admitting this week that he perverted the course of justice over a speeding offence.
The disgraced former energy secretary always came across as a man who was rather impatient at having to share a planet with six billion other people less smart than him.
But whatever you think of the Lib Dem, there is still something tragic about the toll his actions have taken on his family, as revealed this week when texts between him and his teenage son Peter were made public.
I know Huhne’s not exactly in the running for Dad of the Year, but to be told by your own son to **** off on Christmas Day is harsh on anyone.
Not that he can blame anyone but himself for his predicament.
For such an intelligent man, Huhne’s actions were incredibly stupid.
That is the first irony of this case. There may be a second to come.
Huhne’s guilty plea at Southwark Crown Court on Monday was followed by the inevitable announcement that he would vacate his seat at Eastleigh, triggering a by-election.
A mid-term vote in a southern constituency where the two coalition partners came first and second at the last general election.
Could there be a better chance for UKIP to win its first by-election?
On Monday party leader Nigel Farage allowed himself to speculate in public about whether he might stand in Eastleigh.
If he doesn’t, he’ll look like a coward. If he does, he might just win.
It would be an ironic victory for UKIP, since the only thing the party hates more than Brussels bureaucrats are speed cameras.
Yet the party could end up winning its first seat in Parliament thanks to a flash from a yellow box on the motorway nearly 10 years ago.
