"Pardon?"?

I have no idea why, but for many years one of the pages that has referred the most readers to this site has been the Wikipedia entry on U and non-U English. 

And now, I have become the occasion of another split between, on one side, those who either have no airs and graces or have nothing to prove, and, on the other side, those who are desperately insecure in their social position. 

The former frankly maintain my innocence, while the latter pretend to believe in my guilt. A feature of my case is that there are no anti-Dreyfusards; absolutely nobody at all believes that I am guilty.

If the Labour Party ever gets round to selecting a candidate for North West Durham, and the fact that it has still not done so more than suggests that it has already written off this seat, then he will be drawn from the ranks of the non-U, of those who put the "lower" into "lower middle class".

By late 2024, it will be three and a half years since he had lost his council seat, but he will agree to fly the flag on the strict condition that he will not have to affect even the desire to win, much less the expectation of doing so. 

He will have to explain why he had not been the candidate in 2017, since it will certainly not have been because he was too young. He will be far older than the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. 

Just think about that. Just imagine that the first time Labour candidate here in 2017 had been older than Tom Watson. Or that the first time Labour candidate here in 2010 had been older than Harriet Harman. 

Or that there had been a first time Labour candidate here in 1997, and that that candidate had been older than John Prescott. Or that the first time Labour candidate here in 1987 had been older than Roy Hattersley.

Could I beat Richard Holden, much as I like and respect him? That remains to be seen. But could I beat this? After four years of campaigning, hell, yes. I am looking at second place at least.