Letters | 5 January 2017

Yet another kind of snob

Sir: May I offer another definition of a ‘snob’ to the one described by Bryan Appleyard (‘A different class of snob’, 31 December)? I have always believed that a snob is someone who has risen in the world and now looks down with disdain on those they have left behind. This is an altogether more cynical and divisive form of elitism than that of the serial narcissists Mr Appleyard describes in his article.

In the United Kingdom the abolition of grammar schools and the incursion of cheap foreign labour have damaged the legitimate aspirations of those wishing to improve their lot in life, stalled social mobility, and polarised society.

We can tolerate Mr Appleyard’s snobs because, for all the irritations they may arouse, they are basically harmless. But the breed of snob I have described is not. The bitter resentment that is felt towards those who escape fair taxation, who exploit their workforces with zero-hours contracts, and who deny their employees a just pension, is a significant threat to social cohesion.