There is a recent myth that the British class system is less strong than it used to be. It's interesting to note that, quite often, the main people propagating it are those who have benefited the most from the system. Banking; government; the media;the arts; industry; higher education and, of course, the higher echelons of the armed forces - not to mention the civil service (as distinct from government,) are all over represented by a small and rather disproportionate number from the higher classes but I doubt that it will ever seriously change so entwined is it in British civic life.
Higher education in Britain is screwed. By pretty much lowering admission standards to accommodate as many people as possible while - and this is the genius of it - massively increasing the costs of actually going to university Labour have now created a system where mediocrity can flourish as long as the student has the necessary funding. Within both government and the media unpaid internships have become the norm, once again making sure that the brightest people are only assured the opportunity if they have the background to support them.
But the real problem in this country comes from the growing political class who are utterly divorced from the voters. we have a growing number of politicians, (local and national,) who have gone straight from school to university, joined a party, studied political theory or variant of , graduated, worked for the party in some capacity before being parachuted in to a vacant constituency where the party machinery kicks into action and gets them elected. Not once have they had any experience of the real world (well, perhaps a summers internship in the City offices of some vast Zaibatsu where they managed to develop numerous 'contacts' (we have a generation of politician who have contacts rather than friends,) ) and know nothing of what normal people want or need.
Right...I'm going to stop now...it's a lovely sunny day and the Spurs v Portsmouth game is coming on...Sod the politicians, I'll vote for 'Arry Rednap in the general election instead.....
@Steed. I'm not a massive fan of an unelected second chamber filled with people whose only qualifcation is that they were born into it either, but given the behavior of the Commons over the last couple of years I'm loathe to remove anything that checks their actions even if it's only a tiny amount. I'm with you on Mandelson, though. I'd have him walk from Land End to John O Groats wearing a sandwich board which says 'I am a corrupt, lying bastard' while neds throw stones at him.
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