I was surprised to read in David Halpern's article ("Hard times for the lucky and the lazy", 20 November) that the enemies of new Labour are no longer clearly class based. The categories he suggested as constituting the lucky and the lazy, however, instantly conjured up an image of a vanguard led by teenage mums, single parents, illiterate, glue-sniffing youths, the unemployed, the poor on benefit and, lined up behind them, royals, peers, fat cats, tycoons, debs, pop stars, assorted Lottery winners and William Hague's auntie.

Perhaps I am mistaken, but this looks rather like a class-based analysis. While it is unlikely that the members of these categories see themselves as "enemies", or that these strange bedfellows have a real community of interest, listing them in this way provides a helpful insight into which social groups the self-styled leading thinkers and policy-makers regard as their own class enemies. Not only do they hate the rich, it seems, but equally, they despise the poor. This is truly a Third Way.

Sue Lord
Hull

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