Attacking the Tories along the lines of class may not have worked well for Labour in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election last year, but more evidence that it is a sore point for David Cameron’s party came yesterday in the Commons.
Discussing parliamentary privilege, the Tory MP Bernard Jenkin suggested that the word could be misconstrued by the public:
It went out in the Conservative Party that we shouldn’t use the word “privilege” because it would be misunderstood and presumed to mean something to do with the leader of the [then] opposition’s education.
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The British preoccupation with how public figures were schooled was a flashpoint during the election. Gordon Brown memorably told Cameron that his policies had been dreamed up “on the playing fields of Eton”, prompting Kenneth Clarke to provide a list of privately educated Labour ministers.
Cameron tried to brush it off, telling Trevor McDonald: “I totally accept that in the eyes of many people that is, you know, that is a very posh, very privileged upbringing.” In the light of Jenkin’s revelation, this was a daring use of a banned word (though those who make the rules have licence to break them, of course).
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As yesterday’s debate went ahead, perhaps “privilege” has come in from the cold now that the Conservatives are safely ensconced in government.
Hat-tip: PoliticsHome