AIBU or is my DS1? Would you elect an obvious 'working class' man as primeminster or leaser of the opposition?

[CreamolaFoamless]

Talking to DS1 about the budget (younger dc's not interested) and for some reason we got onto Ed Milliband. Anyhoo I said 'I keep forgetting Ed Milliband is labour, he looks and sounds like a conservative'

Long and short of it is DS1 thinks he wouldn't respect anyone to run the country unless they had a certain 'well-spoken' accent ???

Have a given birth to some sort of Neo-Nazi Capitalist or is this a common shared thought?

[CreamolaFoamless]

leader of the opposition lol not leaser, Freudian slip oopsie

[mrswarthog]

We voted for our MP because he is a lovely ordinary man who looks awful in a suit. Really terrible, all fidgety & collar rumpling. He's a bloody brilliant MP, & understands his constituency well. He speaks with a distinct local accent, but is eloquent. I think that matters more.

[scarlettsmummy2]

I don't think they necessarily need to be well spoken, but for me, I would expect them to be well educated. I really liked Gordon Brown and he was from relatively humble beginnings and didn't attend private school. Same with Margaret Thatcher.

[usualsuspect]

Being well spoken doesn't automatically make you more intelligent or more capable of running the country than someone with a working class accent

[Jinsei]

I would expect a leader to sound educated (intelligent & articulate) but I wouldn't care about accent. They certainly wouldn't need to sound posh!

[CarrieAnnRegardless]

I would be sceptical if they sounded like Ali G or talked in muttered yoof-speak, but otherwise, hell yes, the sooner the better!

[OriginalJamie]

Ed Milliband did not go to a Private School

[Jinsei]

Labour's Alan Johnson is from a working class background, for example, but is as intelligent and articulate as any of the Old Etonians.

[ohdearwhatdoidonow]

All I can say is Dear God - get him some proper education. You are raising a snob!

[CaveMum]

Background doesn't matter in the slightest. I couldn't care less if they went to a failing comprehensive school or a top-of-the-range private boarding school.

Providing he/she is the most capable person for the job, I will vote for them.

To me, Ed Milliband does not have the gravitas of a leader, but that's my personal opinion.

[Itsjustafleshwound]

i don't know if I have this right, but in the UK we don't have much say as to who is the PM - we only an vote for a party representative who in turn votes for their leader ....

[GeneHuntsMistress]

What ohdearwhatdoidonow said

Also I would cry a bit. Actually a lot.

[CreamolaFoamless]

Thanks, it's interesting to hear others views as we started talking about Neil Kinnock, Tony Benn , Arthur Scargill etc and he was automatically thinking 'I'd expect them to get it wrong and be over-emotional'

and this is all based on look and accent . He equated it to being similar to if Barack Obama was from the Bronx !!!!

It's interesting (he is 18 and studying modern studies, history and sociology)

[GeneHuntsMistress]

Oh god I thought he was like 9 or 10 for some reason

Ok then if he is 18 I would really cry a lot. Sorry.you did ask.

[usualsuspect]

Hes 18? I would kick him out

[CreamolaFoamless]

usualsuspect ......

and ohdearwhatdoIdoknow , I know it seems that way and I have no idea why ?

Both myself and his dad (my ex husband) have no idea where half his ideals come from , but that in itself is a bit concerning because did it come from school ?

Or maybe his just a snobby meglomanic, I suppose they have to start somewhere !

[ohdearwhatdoidonow]

"studying modern studies, history and sociology"

I'd ask for your money back!

[SodoffBaldrick]

Oh dear, I'd be kicking some sense into him, quick smart!!

I can be a bit of a snob myself - I won't deny it. But seriously - is he actally saying that if someone was incredibly articulate, able to think on their feet, had screeds of back information in their head that they were able to pull out at will and argue and debate in such a polished way as to whither their opponent, he'd seriously not take them seriously just because they had the wrong accent.? If so, he's a very unworldly-wise, naive 18 year old.

I always snurk when I read threads on here (most recently the 'what makes you posh?' one) where you have people coming on to say the class system in the UK is dead. It so, so, so isn't and only someone living in the the thick of it, who's perhaps not very widely travelled could possibly think that. I love my adopted country (although don't live there any more), but one thing you can never say about it is that the class system is dead or irrelevant....!

[Auntiestablishment]

Do you come from London/Home Counties? Perhaps he is just insular and thinks the rest of the country is full of stupid people with comedy accents.

Re Obama, am failing totally to think of a UK equivalent of the exoticism of Hawaii. Scilly Isles?

[Grag]

"Thanks, it's interesting to hear others views as we started talking about Neil Kinnock, Tony Benn , Arthur Scargill etc and he was automatically thinking 'I'd expect them to get it wrong and be over-emotional' "

Tony Benn!?! I think he's a nutter and would have made a terrible PM but it certainly wouldn't be because of any working class background!

[jkklpu]

Tony Benn went to Eton and gave up a hereditary peerage to become an MP - not sure where he fits into your argument

[ll31]

am amused at the "I'd cry a lot " comments etc - so what happens when your children express views you disagree with? it is possible you know... He's 18 or 19? so debate it with him - enjoy!

[CreamolaFoamless]

[TheBigJessie]

Well, ordering your beliefs according to stereotypes, and putting people into little boxes, is very common.

Consciously being aware of such bigotry, and defending it is less so.

[trixie123]

can I ask what "modern studies" is? I teach secondary and have never heard of it. Do you think he means vocabulary and style rather than accent per se? Because, to be fair, being a PM is rather different than a local MP and requires an entirely different level of understanding that would require a level of education that regardless of someone's roots, would give them a style of speech (in public at least) that might not be equated with "working class" (whatever that means these days). Perhaps that's all he means?