Et Pocula Sacra?

So strongly supported by Peter Mandelson that Mandelson feels the need to deny it to the Daily Mail, Wes Streeting is presenting what to some of us is always one of the most delicious of spectacles, namely that if the criterion is working-classness, then any Northerner automatically outranks any Southerner even if they both went to Cambridge. The South makes the rules and usually benefits from them. But every once in while. For example, now. Streeting is also an Anglican while Andy Burnham is a Catholic. In the prolier than thou stakes, Streeting does not stand a chance. And again, who decided that?

Does Burnham's denunciation of 40 years of Thatcherism include his own time in the Cabinet, including as Chief Secretary to the Treasury? He is the only Health Secretary ever to have privatised a hospital. On 15 December, it will be 50 years of what came to be called Thatcherism. It began under a Labour Government. That was why we used to talk about 40 years of Thatcherism in the early Corbyn years, a decade ago.

Nothing in Burnham's extensive record would suggest that he intended to do anything practical about the problems that he had suddenly noticed. Yet his mere observation of them has summoned "the bond markets". When social democratic measures beyond anything proposed by the Labour Party since at least 1983, and far beyond anything suggested by Burnham, are assumed as basic facts of life under Christian Democratic, Gaullist and similar governments, then does anyone ever mention the bond markets? Do those markets take the slightest interest? But Britain is a very special place to the Epstein Class. This is the only country where it expects no dissent whatever.

Streeting's call to rejoin the EU is obviously intended to scupper Burnham's chances at heavily Leave-voting Makerfield, but even if that worked, then the only effect would be to skip a generation. The Cantabrigian Succession that went Burnham-Streeting-Simons, 1970-1983-1993, would simply start with Streeting, who would still owe Josh Simons for having made possible the excision of Burnham. At Spook Central among the Fens, the next in line has already been identified. I do not know who he is. But we all will. At the appointed time.