With no apologies at all to Jenni Russell...
For 100 years anyone who thought themselves vaguely on the right has been able to rail against the worthlessness of Socialism. We deplored their devotion to the politics of class, their hatred of the market, their callous indifference towards all those who aspired to flourish in a tough, competitive world. We detested their xenophobia (cf anti-Americanism), racism (cf Kenyan Asians), sexism (seen many women Trades Union leaders?) and inverted snobbery. We knew, from grim experience, how willing they were to let the economy crumble and public services become at the same time poor in delivery and massively over-expensive to run. We exhorted (and still exhort) them to abandon their disgraceful politics - but remain comfortably certain that they never will.
