Paxo fired a question at Mr Howard around a dozen times but the politician would not budge from his position and continued to use the art of ambiguity to keep Jeremy at bay.

Years later it still raises a smile and is often used as a perfect example of the sort of political prevarication we’ve come to expect from our elected officials.

Closer to home, our MP Jim Murphy is continually being asked to clarify his intentions ahead of the General Election, and some would say he’s doing a pretty good impersonation of Mr Howard.

Will he or won’t he stand to retain East Renfrewshire on May 7 is the question on everyone’s lips.

It seems like a straight forward question that deserves a straight forward answer but rarely is anything that simple in the world of politics.

Mr Murphy has openly stated that he is the Labour candidate for East Renfrewshire but for some that’s not the same as saying he will stand.

That’s true, of course, because who’s to say what will happen between now and the vote but do we honestly think Labour will parachute a new candidate in at the last minute?

If Mr Murphy, for whatever reason, chooses not to stand, he’s going to have to hand the candidacy to another Labour colleague who will have already lost precious time to make their mark on potential supporters.

On that basis, we just can’t see anyone other than Jim Murphy standing for Labour in East Renfrewshire.

And while he hasn’t categorically stated he will stand, he hasn’t categorically said he won’t and until there is a change from that position, Mr Murphy’s name will be on the ballot paper.

That of course will raise another question about where his priorities lie, given that his ultimate ambition is to win a seat at Holyrood and become First Minister. That, though, is a question for another day.