Politicians who make themselves look foolish are seldom destined for stardom. Politicians who can make themselves look foolish and still retain your affection may be an exception. Oliver Letwin, the affable ex-philosopher who has taken over from Ann Widdecombe as the Conservative Party's shadow home secretary, falls into this category. Mr Letwin is accident-prone, but even his accidents have an endearing quality. He was endearingly honest when he told a reporter during last year's general election that, yes, of course the Tories hoped in the long run to make much bigger cuts in public spending than the minimal ones they had owned up to in their manifesto. He was endearingly trusting when, a few days before giving a landmark lecture this week on Conservative crime policy, he allowed a pair of complete strangers supposedly desperate for a pee into his house in the early hours of the morning. He was endearingly brave when, clad in a dressing gown, he pursued one of them through the streets in a bid to recover the wallet and jewellery which the ingrate had nicked. Some newspapers wondered whether this episode showed that Mr Letwin might be stupid, but most had to acknowledge that he is not. As a matter of fact, this former Cambridge philosopher is formidably bright, albeit in an endearing and non-intimidating way. You might call him absent-minded if you did not know that he has also been a sharp-eyed investment banker and an egregiously numerate shadow Treasury spokesman.
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