A Matter of Class?

Now that the Election campaigning is in full swing,all manner of subjects have been brought to our attention by the media.Sure,we know the standings of the various candidates,but one thing really stands out by it's very absence.

The matter is class.

Oh,I know that to all accounts Britain is now a classless society,but did you know that two-thirds of land in Britain is owned by 189,000 families? How about the fact that half our company directors went to public school? In 2007 15 members of the shadow Cabinet had been to Eton.Maybe I'm being cynical,but perhaps it was coincidence.They must have sat around the table on the first day that the shadow cabinet was formed saying " Oh my god,and YOU went to Eton as well? How extraordinary"

But it doesn't end there.77% of high court judges went to Oxbridge,as did 81% of permanent secretaries and 83% of senior ambassadors.People say that the background of Oxbridge students has changed over the last 40 years.It has indeed.In 1969 38% of them came from public schools-now it's 45%...

If you really think that class has vanished ,take a look through a London A-Z.There are loads of roads in Mayfair with Grosvenor in the title.Do you know why? Because they are part of the 100 acre Grosvenor estate that is worth £10 billion (give or take a quid or so).The current Duke of Grosvenor aquired this by being born into the family that has owned the estate since 1622.Or take Portman square which is owned by the Portman Estate since the times of Henry VII,but they must be on hard times as it's only worth £1 billion.

All of this doesn't really mean much,because if like me and the vast majority that doesn't come from this background you KNOW breeding still carries huge privilege.Take the Army for example.How likely is it,that when there's an interview on the news with a soldier in Afghanistan,they'll speak in an Etonian accent? Or when they interview the Chief of Staff in the studio,they'll answer in Glaswegian,Scouse or Geordie?

There is a layer society that is brought up to beleive that it will rule.At their schools when asked to do subjects like WW1,instead of writing about what it must have been like to be in a trench,they're asked to construct a battle plan for capturing Verdun.Instead of being brought up to respect authority,they're taught to be authority.If these people found a tramp on the streets at Christmas,maybe they would welcome them in and ask what he wanted to drink saying "I'm afraid we don't have any Kestrel super strength-will Remy Martin 5 star be ok?" Their points of reference,their outlook and their standpoint on how they see society is shaped by the fact that they are from a different class.They know businessmen and people who have had inquiries named oafter them,people who if they were walking down the street and saw Bill Cinton,wouldn't think " Bugger me that's Bill Clinton!!"These are the people who ask if you've seen the latest production of La Boheme and really,seriously think there is a chance that you have.

I'd like to hope that the victors of the forthcoming election would not choose a person to be a member of the cabinet on the basis of what school they went to,but i'll not be surprised if they do.