Leading Article: Youth's puerile hero

DOES "young Britain" really see Chris Evans as the best person to represent its interests?

It is, if true, a distressing revelation. The Industrial Society, who brought us this news, tell us that young people cite a number of reasons as to why Mr Evans would be a good Minister for Youth. He is said to have a reputation for speaking out. It is, though, a pity that this is based on elevating the f-word into a marketing tool. He has, we are asked to believe, a great sense of humour. Fine, if you want to encourage children to poke fun at "ugly" people. Most importantly, he is supposed to be "in touch" with young people. He has made sure he is. His comedy is puerile - trivial, immature and childish.

Chris Evans is certainly dedicated to self-propaganda. He is famous, tedious about his wealth and notoriously rude. But is Mr Evans really the choice of youth? Let us look more closely at the evidence. Just 600 young people were polled, of whom only 50 plumped for Evans. It may well be that the poll is as unreliable as Chris Evans himself.