Mind the Gap: The New Class Divide in Britain - Ferdinand Mount

A brilliant and original book about growing inequality.

Ferdinand Mount believes that there is a growing gap between the rich and the poor in Britain.

The reasons for this are: economic policies that favour the rich; a welfare state which has infantilised the lower classes; strict planning laws that make land and housing unaffordable for the poor; and the contemptuous and paternalistic attidude that the rich in Britain have always had towards the poor.

I would agree with the previous reviewer that the author does romanticise the lower classes. However, I would not agree that this is a right wing polemic. Despite the fact that Mr Mount was once an advisor to Mrs. Thatcher, he is not a conventional Tory. He proposes education and health voucher schemes, and that the tax and benefits system be reformed to encourage marriage. He also proposes that the minimum wage should be increased, that only the better-off should pay taxes, that businesses should be owned by their workers and that some land should be transferred from wealthy landowners to the poor.

It's an informative and thought-provoking book. Not only did I read it in one sitting, but I found myself wanting to read more of many of the books Mr Mount quotes from. I would recommend it to anyone interested in politics.

Poor Bobby Elliot

Dear Bobby, Travel outside the UK and find out for yourself that class exists in every society. You proley Pom class warriors are your own worst enemy.

Right wing analysis of working class culture

Ferdinand Mount has written an interesting and challenging book about working class culture. He argues persuasivly that class still counts and that "uppers" and "downers" still exist.

As his argument unfolded, it slowly dawned on me that I was reading a right-wing polemic on contemporary politics. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised given his background (he currently writes for The Times and has previously worked for a Conservative government).

I had a problem with his misty-eyed view of working class culture. He attacks left- and right-wing thinkers for patronising the working class but turns a blind-eye to the worst aspects of this culture. The book is also contradictory in parts. For example, he attacks Marx's view that there is no middle class (they will join one or other of the working or upper classes when the time comes) but he himself only describes two classes (downers and uppers).

Still, it was an interesting read and one that I can recommend.