Politics

David Skelton: Is a new form of snobbery reshaping British politics? – BBC News

Published

3 years ago

August 13, 2021

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Snobbery is a very British vice – but according to the author of a new book it is no longer about looking down on people for having the wrong accent or manners.

The “new snobbery” is a form of condescension practiced by university-educated “progressives” – directed at people they consider ignorant and bigoted, David Skelton argues.

He believes it is the biggest fault line in British politics, and could lead to the Conservative Party staying in power for the foreseeable future.

Skelton is one of the most influential centre-right thinkers in the country, whose previous book Little Platoons, contained the seeds of Boris Johnson’s flagship “levelling up” policy.

He is also a native of the North-East of England, having grown up in Consett, a former steel town in the Pennine foothills, which like other former Labour strongholds elected a Conservative MP in 2019.

For Skelton, the crumbling of Labour’s fabled “red wall” had been a long time coming.

“I felt that the status quo in both parties had rather taken for granted, rather ignored, the kind of people I went to school with – and the kind of people who, before the phrase became commonplace, were being ‘left behind’ by politicians of both parties.”

But it took the 2016 Brexit referendum – and its bitter aftermath – to bring things to a head.

“Working-class voters in places like Consett, places in the North East and Yorkshire, the Midlands – post-industrial places that had been long forgotten, just flexed their muscles for the first time.

“The response, I thought, was really disheartening.”

‘Identity politics’

He is referring to the savage war of words between Leavers and Remainers that played out on social media in the weeks following the referendum.

“The number of times I heard people described as stupid or under-educated or bigoted,” he says, was “really annoying for me, because these are my friends, these are my family who are anything but bigoted and the very opposite of it.”

According to Skelton, Leavers were subjected to abuse from people “generally wealthier and better educated than them – or with a higher level of academic education”.

In his book, he argues that this is a new form of snobbery, more “insidious” than traditional forms because it “questions people’s ability to participate in the democratic process”.

Labour supporters and members of the People’s Vote campaign for another referendum were particularly susceptible to it, he claims.

He concedes that you would be hard-pressed to find examples of Labour politicians or activists – increasingly drawn from the city-dwelling professional classes – openly sneering at the working classes, beyond a few well-shared social media posts.

But he argues it is there in the tone of what they say and the issues they choose to prioritise. There is a chapter in his book on “wokeism” and “identity politics”, which he argues, is policed by a small, privileged elite.

Like other writers, on both the left and right, Skelton points the finger at a misguided version of meritocracy, which gives people fortunate enough to have had a good education licence to look down on those who haven’t.

‘Savage cuts’

In fact, his definition of the working class – always a slippery concept in post-industrial Britain – is people who did not go to university.

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The professional classes, including politicians and journalists, have long been dominated by graduates, often from privileged private school backgrounds. Even those from more humble origins leave their home areas and friendship groups behind, in search of a better income and more acceptable opinions, argues Skelton.

He does not call for fewer young people to go on to higher education – but does argue for a reversal of the “savage” cuts in funding for further education and a higher social status for frontline workers.

He also bemoans the destruction of secure, skilled jobs that gave communities like Consett a sense of pride and meaning.

In this respect, his book, The New Snobbery, is very similar to another recent book, The Dignity of Labour, by Labour MP John Cruddas, who I interviewed in May.

Thatcherite policies

Skelton is an admirer of Cruddas’s work, and like him sees salvation in the return of high-quality, well-paid jobs in manufacturing.

Many, including Cruddas, would argue that these jobs and the communities they sustained were destroyed by the Conservatives in the first place,

In the 1980, the closure of the steel plant in Consett, with the loss of 3,700 jobs, became a byword on the left for brutal, uncaring Thatcherite policies.

Skelton says the “headlong rush” towards deindustrialisation – and the switch to a service-based economy – in the 1980s and 1990s was a mistake.

David Skelton

He claims that under Boris Johnson there has been “a change in mindset and certainly a change in rhetoric” at the top of the Conservative Party. Hardline Thatcherite economics are increasingly out of favour – and “levelling up” is the latest buzzword, with promises to spend money on neglected parts of the country.

The jury is still out on whether levelling up will amount to much more than some showpiece infrastructure spending and a few thousands civil service jobs sent north. Detailed polices are promised for the autumn.

Skelton warns that “a lasting change can only happen if working-class voters become central to everything the (Conservative) party says and does”. This may involve upsetting vested interests, and donors, he adds.

The jury is also out on whether that will come to pass, but Boris Johnson does not have forever to consolidate his newfound support among the victims of the new snobbery, says Skelton.

“Frankly, the Tories are not going to have a majority of 80 for long if they don’t deliver for the voters who brought about that majority in the first place.

“These voters are patient, but they don’t have endless reserves of patience.”

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Politics

‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Politics

Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Politics

Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

Published

2 days ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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