Stateman or Skatesman? was set up by a young chap called Jason Whiley, back in 2003. After years of being lost to the deepest, darkest corners of the internet, the site has been rescued and restored to it’s previous glory! Without further a do, let’s let Jason tell the story…

How it all started

Last Christmas my Dad and me had a big argument. He’d found a picture of Enoch Powell on a pogo stick and claimed that politicians weren’t as interesting as that any more.

Enoch Powell on a Pogo Stick I’m doing politics A level and thought that he was wrong. So I wrote to lots of them to ask them what they thought, and whether they had ever been on any of the following…

(a) a skateboard;
(b) roller skates and/or blades;
(c) a space hopper;
(d) a go kart;
(e) a death slide;
(f) a non-motorised scooter;
(g) a BMX bike;
(h) or any other locomotive child’s toy?

Everyone said that none of them would write back. But lots did. And this website is the result.

It includes responses from three Prime Ministers, five Chancellors, six Foreign Secretaries, four Home Secretaries, and three Speakers of the House of Commons.

And once you’ve seen Ian Lang on an elephant or Peter Lilley in a soap box racer you’ll never look at politicians in the same light again. Everyone says politicians don’t do cool stuff. But they do.

Unfortunately, Ive spent so much time trying to win this bet, and Ive failed my Politics A-level. My dad is not happy at the moment.