Good point…

Oh dear. Another one falls into the trap of conflating Public Schools with Oxbridge.

There is a fundamental difference – entry to the latter is by individual merit; entry to the former depends upon coming from a wealthy background.

Basically, the fact that he was at Harrow was the main topic of conversation. His writing ability or ambitions were way down the list of things to talk about. Conversations were instead about whether it was Oxford or Cambridge.

Seeing him explain to an American man in a very arrogant way (after finding out I was a scary leftie) about the split in the UK between state education and private schools made me realise how shallow and sheltered these kids are. He didn’t know the first thing about state education and thought all schools use selection procedures to pick pupils.

But I digress. What was interesting to note was his attitude to the rest of us and how self absorbed he was. He also spent very little time talking about writing. Had I been lucky enough to go on a writing residential at the age of 17 it would have been through talent alone.

My point is that these people use their schools and universities as weapons. When all else fails suddenly Harrow or Eton or Oxford or Cambridge is casually dropped into the conversation as they are taught that it will open doors for them. Maybe it should open doors for them but the door must stay equally open for the next state educated redbrick university educated working class person too…

At the moment, it doesn’t. That’s wrong.

The Government has now paid out £750 billion this year alone,into the still failing banking system and is allowing sky high cash bonuses to be collected this Christmas,whilst there remains 1 million unemployed, between the age of 16-24 years,all facing a bleak New Year.

Mr Brown`s Govt’ has presided over a reported `Lost Generation’ of teenagers, where in a recent Health Education Unit survey recently found that 28% 14-15 year olds, had been drunk in the previous 7 days, before the survey was carried out.

The Tories also seek to chisel away personal liberty and civil liberties and have nothing credible to say about the heavy noise of Westminster.

The centre stage at Westminster continually drowns out the cries of the vulnerable,the poor,the elderly, especially the over 80`s and the beleaguered pupils and students facing a life time of debt from the current imposition of tuition fees,if they enter higher education.

What reforms would Messrs Brown and Cameron bring in on `Localism’ : giving more powers to local residents?

I am cynical,however, as any prospect of the imposed `Hobson`s Choice’ without public consultation, directly elected Mayor or so called `strong leader’, with new powers and less public accountability, does not smack of any improved local democracy for our residents.

Is Mr Cameron a Liberal Manque or right wing conservative wolf ? Well he wrote `there is something about the night about him’ Michael Howard`s Manifesto in 2005.

The best new Prime Minister will be he who demonstrates that he is cares most about the `silent majority’ and the vulnerable and is not someone whose main preoccupation is the largesse of the City Fat Cats or someone who tends to the whims of millionaires first, before the vulnerable in the community.

The L/D`s are freeing 4 million from paying any taxes on the first £10K of earned income including pensioners and this is costed by the transfer of taxes from the owners of £2 M plus homes .

This is a liberal taxation measure and gratitude is owed to Vince Cable for his brilliant analysis in finding a a fairer tax in favour of giving more back to the worst off.

I am afraid people with this sort of background often do disappoint once one gets to know them. They do come across as enormously confident and skilled, but deeper analysis suggests they’ve been hot-housed beyond their real deep skill level.

I also find that people from such a privileged background really are quite clueless on how life for ordinary people really is. Even if they really do mean well, in so many little ways they just get things wrong, and it is so difficult to argue with them about why they are getting it wrong, because if you haven’t had the background to know struggle against such things as low income, lack of contacts, a culture of “know your place” and much else you really can’t see why simple nostrums – well, such as the current fashionable obsession with extreme free market economics – really won’t work as you think they would from your out-of-touch background.

I am reminded of the story (I think it is apocryphal) of the schoolboy at Eton who was asked to write a short story on poverty. So he started off “Once there was a really poor family. The daddy was poor, the mummy was poor, even the butler was poor …”.

I have always thought that the 2010 election is more likely to be the Tories’ 92 (where they reformed quite a lot, but not enough), not their 97.

I believe it is now more more likley the next Election will lead to a `Hung Parliament’, as the Tories have had no policies to woo the electorate by Spring 2010.

It is patently clear that if they were to find any to appeal to the national consciousness David Cameron would have spat them out over 4 years.To surmise that there will be public service cuts and `a period of austerity is tantamount to alienating him from the rank and file voter and the fact that he has opted to join the `Far Right’ in the EU has alienating him from his own.

In contrast Nick Clegg`s star has now started soar into the ascendant by dint of his clearly annunciated policies on Armed Services and Afghanistan and `Fair Taxes for the Majority’ and support for the `under-dog’ and `silent majority’.

The L/D pledge to not tax the first earned £10K for 4 million people, will now offer the electorate a real radical and progressive opportunity for change next time.When this is allied to the `Pupil Premium’ and ending the rampant ` Bonus Culture in the City’ campaign this all will gain gravitas.

Nick Clegg has also said `Power belongs to the people, the citizens.Big money must be taken out of politics….`The Liberal Moment’-2009 will now be translated into permanence in many Council Elections.

The Tories have nailed their petard to their shaky mast by orchestrating that money dictates politics with the emblematic moment for Zac Goldsmith-the fortune hunter versus `Power belongs to the citizens,not politicians’.

The discerning liberal voter should not forget thqt the primary issue is that money should not be seen to be capable of buying political influence but `substance’ and `progressive policies’ are what are important.

You’re absolutely right to take the high ground and talk sustainability issues. However, people do like to look at the low ground as well, and, people are absolutely right in that instinct. It’s the personal, the body language, the life experience, that people use to judge a politician’s real character. Robert Maxwell’s champagne socialism, Gordon Brown’s inability to smile in a normal human way, Richard Nixon’s nervous anxiety, Adolf Hitler’s terrible angry resentment in all he said – these all give / gave an insight into real character and into how it was likely to affect action.

Cameron knows the importance of presenting a favourable image of character, which is why he spends so much time with the nappy-changing, the cycling exhibition, the posing. If we believe that Cameron in reality has put himself there with the primary goal of defending wealth and privilege, it is right that we should present our own more accurate image of his character, and the influences that formed it.

The key point here is that Cameron, regardless of what we think personally, has been very successful and we would be foolish to believe that he won’t continue to be (and plan accordingly).

Tend to agree. We’ve gone from the (looking back on it) bizarre “Let sunshine win the day” ordure to his health and safety speech this week which was, as Simon Hoggart said, classic cab driver.

Reading through that speech I’m convinced it shows us the real Cameron. He’s a right wing cab driver at heart.

But also reading that speech there are seem real causes for concern. As an example, he wants to ditch the EU working time rules (as Steve Richards observe “social chapter” – presumably). This is what Cameron said:

” At the moment, staffing needs in the NHS are being undermined by European regulations that dictate the number of hours that junior doctors are allowed to work.That’s why we want to negotiate the restoration of Britain’s control over EU social and employment legislation, in particular the aspects of the Working Time Directive which are causing the most problems in our public services.”

I think the entire nation should be scared shitless about this.

OK, I am sure junior doctors these days are still run ragged. But, correct me if I am wrong – because I am no expert on this area – but I thought the working time directive had at least curbed some of the terrible excesses of long hours for junior doctors which we saw under the Thatch (and before). You know the sort of thing – junior doctors going without sleep and then making terrible errors with dosages and the like.

I think the whole nation should be really scared by this element of Cab driver Cameron’s policy portfolio, and particularly the blithe way he oleaginously snuck it into a speech which was based on sanctimonious and lazy use of myth, ludicrous generalisation and misleading scare stories of the very worst kind.