How the Left Lost the Battle over the Elite
In the aftermath of the Financial Crash, it briefly looked like a left-wing alternative would benefit from anti-elite sentiment. But in recent years, the Right has waged a campaign to portray the Left as an out-of-touch elite — and turned the tide of politics in the process.
Jeremy Corbyn speaks at a rally. (Getty Images)
It is an enduring myth of modern politics that ‘populism’ is a recent arrival to Britain. Where once our politics was characterised by sober and serious leaders debating policy, the narrative goes, today it is the preserve of the visceral — an arena where expertise is derided and facts are discarded in favour of vulgar […]
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