I am becoming increasingly concerned about my tendency to tilt towards the right as I age. Today, for example, I found myself agreeing with Simon Jenkins who, it seems to me, nails it when he says, writing in The Guardian:
The British have never minded the ruling class doing what it says on the packet, provided some deference is shown to the bourgeoisie. Cameron has been adept at that. Public school charm, even with a touch of caddishness, as deployed by Cameron and Tony Blair, may be scorned by the Westminster club, with its distaste for charisma and celebrity. But when combined with humour and a self-deprecating confidence, it can carry a leader over the bumps and potholes of politics, where such men as John Major and Gordon Brown stumble and fall.
But it gets worse. Much, much worse. A friend emailed me the link to a Richard Littlejohn rant the other day, and this morning I plucked up the courage to read it. The central thrust: that it was entirely predictable that leftie Central London boroughs were amongst the very few to vote ‘yes’ in the AV referendum, and that this is microcosmic of how out of touch the residents of liberal Central and North London are with the rest of the UK public.
The terrible thing – terrible given how irrefutably odious Littlejohn can be – is that despite being a Guardian-reading resident of one of the culprit boroughs myself, I found it very hard to disagree, hard as I might try. Where shall I go for help?
arbitrary constant 