Britain’s establishment has split into two, each convinced it is the underdog
The result is extremism, and juvenile squabbling
BORIS JOHNSON is under siege from all directions. Stories of “Tory sleaze” multiply. Constituencies in the north of England are furious about plans to scale back high-speed rail. Yet the prime minister nevertheless found time on November 15th to don white tie and tails and address the annual Lord Mayor’s banquet at the Guildhall in London. Packed with people far more powerful than mere politicians, it had all the hallmarks of an establishment affair. The proceedings were incomprehensible to outsiders; dullness and high theatre intermingled. Mr Johnson started by name-checking dignitaries: aldermen, sheriffs and the chief commoner (whose title was once rendered in Chinese as “head peasant”) and progressed to quantum computing and AstraZeneca vaccines.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Who runs the country?”
Britain November 20th 2021
- The NHS faces a bleak winter
- Azeem Rafiq claims anti-Asian abuse is widespread in English cricket
- British Indians are emerging as an important group of swing voters
- Britain’s economy does not lack oomph, but productivity is lagging
- Britain’s inequalities are spelt out in its surnames
- The government wants to ensure that tax breaks for freeports aren’t wasted
- Britain’s establishment has split into two, each convinced it is the underdog
From the November 20th 2021 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Britain
Britain’s brokers are diversifying and becoming less British
London’s depleted stockmarket is forcing them to change
What a buzzy startup reveals about Britain’s biotech sector
Lots of clever scientists, not enough business nous
Britain’s government lacks a clear Europe policy
It should be more ambitious over getting closer to the EU
The Rachel Reeves theory of growth
The chancellor says it’s her number-one priority. We ask her what that means for Britain