[audioplayer src=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_14_August_2014_v4.mp3″ title=”Ed West and Ryan Bourne discuss the moaning middle class” startat=1402]
Listen
[/audioplayer]Almost from the moment the coalition came to power four years ago, a mood of deepening grievance has gripped parts of the middle class, fuelled by a sense that they have been the biggest losers from the government’s austerity programme. They see themselves as ‘the squeezed middle’, the ones cruelly punished by rising taxation and the loss of state support. What makes their anger all the greater is the feeling of betrayal. David Cameron should be on their side.
This narrative of victimhood has become conventional wisdom. Only this week Radio 4’s Jenni Murray, the epitome of Middle England, wailed that she is ‘as cash-strapped as everyone else’. To attend a forthcoming party, she confessed, ‘I will be throwing on an old kaftan bought for £50 online,’ then ‘hopping into a cheap-as-chips local minicab so I can enjoy the one treat I can afford: a glass of wine.’
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in