John Penrose, MP for Weston-super-Mare and Minister for Tourism & Heritage

Well this looks jolly silly. The people at the Highways Agency have decided we can’t have one of those brown signs on the M5 at junction 21 to advertise the Grand Pier or the Seaquarium so that tourists know where to turn off. Apparently we’re only allowed something that says ‘seafront attractions’ instead.

Now, in their defence, prior experience at Saatchi and Saatchi isn’t a key requirement for getting a job at the Highways Agency. I imagine they prefer to hire people who can build bridges which don’t fall down, rather than marketing gurus. But you don’t need to be an advertising genius to know that ‘seafront attractions’ isn’t quite as, well, attractive as ‘World Famous Grand Pier’. Not nearly.

So I’ve written to the Highways Agency, saying it’s a huge missed opportunity for our local tourism industry and asking why they’ve taken against Weston’s sign. And I’m looking forward to their reply, because I can’t find anyone who thinks ‘seafront attractions’ makes sense.

It goes wider than Weston too. If this kind of issue is cropping up in other parts of the country then, wearing my Tourism Minister’s hat for a moment, we could have a national problem. We might be short-changing dozens of tourist destinations, by depriving them of a decent chance to advertise their wares. So I’ll be combing through the Highways Agency’s reply very carefully, as you can imagine.

And finally, how was the budget for you? So far, everybody I’ve asked has been relieved it wasn’t worse. It’s as if, after years of debt-fuelled boom, we’re all braced for a bit of old-fashioned saving before we spend. It’s like taking medicine – not much fun, but we know it’s good for us. But in spite of the cuts and austerity, surely we can still afford a single, solitary brown sign on the M5?