Comments on: A Crewe mutiny for Labour?

By: mikestallard

mikestallard — Fri, 23 May 2008 22:00:01 +0000

Allow me a further comment.
The new class goes something like this, I suggest:
1. The top layer mixing with rich people who have "got there" and who are now international: David Cameron, Tony Blair, Cherie Blair, Ruth Kelly, Cherie Blair, George Osborne, Ed Balls and his lovely wife…..Education is, of course, as ever, the key. Otherwise, you need BIG talent. David Beckham? Mick Jagger?
2. Those of us who are in work/pensioned off. Assuming we have kept our noses clean, we are the people who make up the bulk of the population. Note, please, we think we are classless, we are (increasingly) colour blind, we probably have a family based on quaint old traditional ideas. We pride ourselves on being good and on being English, whatever our background. We support the Police.
3. The rest who are sinking. Here are the immigrants, those on the rock'n'roll, druggies, disabled, psychiatric people etc etc. One in four of the population?

By threatening the second class people and by trying it on with the first class people, Gordon Brown has blown it in Crewe. But what sunk him was hitting the third class people.
(PS I am now second class, but have, for some time, been third class).

Reply: I don't think your Third class is rightly defined. Migrants range from very rich and successful to those who will take unpleasant jobs at very low pay. The disabled are not the same as druggies and drop outs. On this basis there are more than 3 classes.

By: Praguetory

Praguetory — Fri, 23 May 2008 08:38:43 +0000

If a toff is the antithesis of a New Labour politician, I think that we might see a revival in the toff brand. We're all toffs now.

By: Acorn

Acorn — Fri, 23 May 2008 07:40:16 +0000

Melanie Philips, in the Mail this week, used the phrase "Social Conservatism"; anybody have a definition for this?

Also, you learn something every day reading Hansard (21st May):-

Mr. McGovern: Will my hon. Friend give way?
Mr. Thomas: Indeed.
Madam Deputy Speaker: Order. I ought to say to the hon. Gentleman that it is not custom and practice for a Parliamentary Private Secretary to intervene on his Minister.

Mrs Heal for Speaker, I say, she may be a Labour MP but this lady is quality.

By: adam

adam — Fri, 23 May 2008 04:52:54 +0000

Now you are being kind to labour voters.
I talk to many of them, one of their strongest anti conservative points is he/she is a Tory toff, dont vote for the toff. Its a bad strategy because it only appeals to people who think that way to begin with. To floaters it might look like prejudice.

This behaviour coming from a party that thinks it supports equality is not lost on me.

By: Martin Salter MP

Martin Salter MP — Fri, 23 May 2008 01:26:57 +0000

Well its a representation of the previous generation of Tories. Now many Labour colleagues are also toffs, so it was short sighted. And toffs have done well from Labour, look at all those non doms, amongst the highest earners.

By: Jonathan Robson

Jonathan Robson — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:36:49 +0000

It always fills me with bewilderment how anyone can call the "Tories" toffs., when the Labour Party and their cheer leaders are full to the brim with "old fasioned socialist toffs" – Was Tony Blair one of the lads? Was Tony Benn? Or what about Ed Balls, David Milliband etc?

It is much easier for working people to identify with the Conservatives these days – not only was the host of this blog from a "humble" beginning but so was the shadow Home Secretary and the Shadow Defence Minister. William Hague went to a comprehensive. Was Mrs Thatcher the daughter of a greengrocer? These people worked their way up and I applaud them for it.

It is just a shame that David Davies or Dr Fox had not been chosen as leader, imagine the book "From Council Estate to 10 Downing Street" (By the way my choice would have been the good Dr Fox )

By: mikestallard

mikestallard — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:27:53 +0000

Actually, things are a lot worse than you say for Labour at the moment. According to today's Telegraph, Mr Brown is now sending his e mails at 3.30 a.m. Apparently his fingernails are now nearly gone too.
From the outside it is simply obvious that he cannot cope. His failure to appear and lead the wretched (unpaid) Labour workers into the election at Crewe is lamentable. Even worse, in my opinion, was the way that he hung the desperate Home Secretary out to dry at the Police Federation. It is completely obvious that the poor woman is just following orders – yet, when it is a case of facing the Police Federation, her Boss is in hiding.
I give him, at the most, another month. I did think he would only last till Easter, but I was wrong then. Now, I think myself, it is terminal. He will either give up, be ousted or else have to go into Hospital.

By: Will S

Will S — Thu, 22 May 2008 18:22:31 +0000

You forgot:

The Flying Brick – The Official Monster Raving Loony Party

By: Neil Craig

Neil Craig — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:10:00 +0000

Labour used to be able to rely on class antagonism to sustain their votes. We have all met the electors who acknowledged that their Labour MP/Councillor was useless & (words left out)but that they would vote for him because, being working class, they "have always voted Labour".

Social changes have had something to do with it but Blair made it clear that the "working class" held no place in New Labour's affections.

I think that is why their campaign, fought largely on class loyalty has come so badly unstuck, particularly in light of ending the 10p tax rate. In honesty I must say that I think ending that rate was a proper move by Brown to simplify a tax system he had made more complex & that the electorally advantageous decision by the Tories to oppose it was unprincipled.

By: Mike Rouse

Mike Rouse — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:33:15 +0000

You're more "one of us" than most of the Labour lot.