The Political Class

I have been reading Peter Oborne's book The Triumph of the Political Class (Simon & Schuster) and for once I agree with David Mellor: 'Copies..should be sent to every voter'.

The Political Class is a term I have been using for some time, mainly about Europe, but Oborne (former political editor of the Spectator, now with the Mail) traces its rise over the last 30 years to its apotheosis now (in the unlikely event of it becoming a film, Apotheosis Now would be a good title).

Whereas we once had an establishment, the governance of the country is now in the hands of a self protecting class of people which can be entered only at an early age. Almost all of them have no experience of anything outside Westminster and politics is so much a profession that even party political distinction is blurred: they borrow each other's policies simply to occupy political space as if the asppirations and needs of a nation were a chessboard. The result has been poor government, based on preserving the interests of the Political Class above serving the people, low voter turnout (what's the point?) and corruption, many instances of which Oborne cites.

This is a stunning indictment of what we have allowed to happen in Britain. I hope the book is widely read before it is too late.