On working class Tories...

Where once the mine trains went is now overgrown, disused - a feature of a "country park". This is a bit of what remains of Shipley Collieries near Heanor in Derbyshire. It's where my Grandfather had his first job and the business for which he worked up to - as he put it - him being nationalised. I guess he was a working-class Tory - despite much of that working life being in management or one sort or another.

Not like me - I'm not remotely posh but, as these things go, just as remote (two generations) from being working class. But I like to think that there's a little bit of me that empathises with the ideas of self-reliance, independence and patriotism that typify the outlook of the working-class Tory. And I understand the scorn some working-class Tories have for fellow politicians who seem to want to hide their humble roots. To pretend that having started out nearer the bottom of the pile isn't something to be ashamed of, that that Peter Sarstedt kind of message - be proud of your roots, your accent and your heritage - is something we should all hold dear.

So yes, I like those of my Tory colleagues who don't make out to be better than where they come from - the sort like my Grandfather who made it on their own merits and abilities rather than on Daddy's cash and contacts.

So here's to Norman, Eric, David and Patrick. And yes, Nadine too. Proper working-class Tories.

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