One of the most important books of recent times about the UK political scene is Peter Oborne’s, The Triumph of the Political Class. [1] He details how a new type of politician has come to the fore in modern Britain. In the past, politicians had histories of connection with society; in business, or in the trade unions, for example. They had constituencies they represented and were answerable to. Modern ‘political class’ politicians, in contrast, are rootless. They leave University and, after a short spell, in a pseudo job, such as a media placement arranged with contacts, or, perhaps in a family charity, or even in a “think tank”, they are selected and find their way into Parliament. They have no constituency and no particular political principles. They loyalties are to themselves and their equally rootless colleagues. This partly, explains, I think, the easy cross-over of policies between Labour and The Conservatives. A key feature of political class politicians is how, just because they have no actual connection with any section of the public, they are always trying to find the populist touch and convince the public they are “one of them”. Precisely because they are not. I was amused today to see that the first candidate for the new Deputy Leader of the Labour Party is a political class politician. I was alerted to this by this statement in her bid for the position:
I am a proud working-class woman from the north-east. I have come from a single parent family on a tough council street, all the way to the cabinet, determined to deliver better life chances for young people growing up in our country.
That sounds amazing. A real working class woman who has worked her way up. Perhaps she worked for 5 years at a real job, for example in a supermarket, became a foreperson in a Union, and learned about politics through struggles with unscrupulous employers, before taking on management responsibilities in the Union which prepared her, in her forties, for a career in Parliament? Well; not exactly. This appears to be the route:
- Childhood in council house (true)
- Hertford College, Oxford University [2] (2002)
- Two years working for a local authority [3]
- Three years working for Mum’s refuge charity [3]
- Elected 2010 aged ? < 30
Every time she mentions Oxford University in the interviews, that I have seen, she tries to “soften” this by saying she was involved in some Labour Club at the University. She does this because she knows perfectly well that Oxford University is an elite organisation and she needs to burnish up those “working class” credentials.
For some reason on her own website she doesn’t mention the 2 years working for a local authority. She just says “Before becoming an MP, Bridget managed a refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence.” (not saying it was Mum’s). Of course; image is everything and no doubt, she wants to focus on the women’s rights side of things, and, also, “managed a refuge” sounds a lot more independent than “worked in Mum’s charity”.
I have no reason to believe that Bridget Phillipson is not a nice person. But, the fact is, that growing up in Council house is not, in itself, a political qualification. That is; it does not constitute work experience. If the claim is that it establishes a connection to the less well-off she seems to have snipped that connection when she graduated from the country’s most elite University. I’m not trying, especially, to attack Phillipson, but she is a very nice example of a modern careerist politician; substituting for real experience and a connection to a particular section of the public, a spin curated image as she glides effortlessly, and using connections, from “Uni” to Parliament.
Buy The Triumph of the Political Class on Amazon.
Notes
- Peter Oborne’s, The Triumph of the Political Class. Pocket Books. 2008.
- https://www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2005-No.-85-The-Herford-College-Magazine.pdf / https://www.bridgetphillipson.com/about/
- https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/21/bridget-phillipson-shadow-education-secretary-interview