Chris Evans wins vote for ministry of youth

CHRIS EVANS, the enfant terrible of British broadcasting, would make the best government minister for youth, according to a survey of young people.

The man fired as Radio 1's top DJ because he wanted Fridays off, narrowly pipped Richard Branson for the post in a poll conducted for the Industrial Society. The radio presenter Tim Vincent was the third most popular choice, followed by Prince William, Johnny Vaughan, presenter of The Big Breakfast, the Radio 1 DJ Zoe Ball, and the comedienne Dawn French. A significant proportion of respondents voted for their fathers.

The vote that swung it for Evans was small - just 600 young people, aged between 12 and 25 were polled. The sample was not weighted according to age, class, region or sex.

The exercise followed a much more rigorous testing of opinion last year when the society published results of its 2020 Vision poll of 10,000 young Britons - the most comprehensive survey of its kind ever conducted.

A spokesperson for the society said: "We are not standing up and saying this is a nationally representative poll ... This should provoke debate. But the message behind the poll is important, namely that young people want representation."

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