The moment that has defined my approach to politics came when my mother told me the proudest moment of her life: buying her council house.
Growing up in Consett, a former steel town in the north east, that house seemed to be like any of the other identikit terraced properties in the area. But to my mother, it was an asset she now owned and was able to pass on to me and my siblings. Later in life, I realised that Right to Buy had opened up new avenues for my mother, beyond having a roof over her head: it gave her choice, security, and a sense of achievement and self esteem. Especially as a single parent with three kids.
That’s why it angers me when darlings of the Left like Laura Pidcock, the Labour newcomer and MP for North West Durham, pop up on Question Time to rail against politics which appeal to the aspirational working classes.
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