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This is not intended as a political critique, more a case of ‘class’. But for readers who may detect bias, that’s their problem.

Pleb definition: ‘member of despised social class, commoner, low born, vulgar, one step above slaves’.

Andrew Mitchell’s maternal grandmother is today discovered to have been a domestic servant. Oh, the shame of it. In a way, quite comforting though. My paternal grandma (Scottish) was a domestic servant, grandpa (Welsh miner and railway worker). My maternal grandma (English) was a domestic servant. Grandpa - nobody ever knew the name on the stern of the ship that glided past in the night, but presumed as never having gone to Eton - or through it. It is he that my legendary good looks are attributed to. However, she worked herself to death to bring up a family of four through the 1920/30’s.

That gives me the advantage in the pleb stakes of at least four (including me) in the family to his (known) one. Mind you, I’ve never been so vulgar as to swear at a police officer face to face or in print (that’s now three to one), never been so common as to, from a position of seniority, threaten anybody with the sack (that’s now two to one), never assumed that I’m better than anyone (that’s evens now). I resent that. Being equal to that stinker (there’s the bias - couldn’t resist) galls. Hooray for plebdom.

My family too, paternal grandmother a cook, maternal was a French house servant. Andrew Mitchell is just another sad example of inverted snobbery. Cameron seems intent upon forcing these awful people up the electorate's noses at the moment. How the local party selected such a boorish prig as Mitchell is a reflection of an integral structure that's been endemic in the Party's history for too long now. The would be reformers are there, as they always have been, but the 'blue-rinse and bowls' brigade have to date stifled them at birth. Mitchell belongs to the early days of the Raj and isolates the floating voters. Cameron should put a paper bag over his head and hide him away from the real world. For re-elective purposes he's about as much use as a bidet in a Gorilla's cage.