Well, this is embarrassing.
In an earlier post I listed Chris Skidmore, the incumbent Conservative candidate for … as a 'friend'.
What a contrast with the sad apology for a Conservative MP I met in Bristol on Friday.
Like me, Chris Skidmore (above, right) was a guest on Sunday Politics West.
On a personal level he was very pleasant. Before recording started he introduced himself and we had a brief chat, mostly about the weather.
We didn't talk about banning smoking in cars with children but when the producer came to take us to the studio I asked, "How are you voting on Monday?"
"For," he replied.
Fair enough. If he feels strongly and has some good arguments for a ban that are clearly his own I can accept that.
However, when asked by presenter David Garmston how he would vote, and why, a blank look came over his face. It was as if he was on autopilot.
He uttered a few platitudes but nothing to suggest he had a genuine view of his own. Going through the motions is the best way to describe it. A zombie would have shown more passion.
Crucially there was little to distinguish Skidmore's opinion from that of Jo McCarron, the Labour candidate for Kingswood, who was also on the programme.
The only real difference between them was McCarron's bright red dress. (Skidmore was wearing a suit with a white shirt and no tie. Significantly the suit was grey.)
Kingswood is a marginal seat. Unless Tory MPs like Skidmore put some clear blue ideological water between them and their opponents, how can the Conservative party hope to win an overall majority next year?
Nice chap he may be, but Chris Skidmore is wet with a capital 'W'.