Indeed Frys and Caburys are really good historic examples. I don't think you can call them examples of the left either.
If memory serves they come from the Victorian rather conservative values consistent with many of the religious movements of the time such as the Methodists. These promoted the concept of dignity through hard work. The thought was that those given the opportunity to work and willing to work hard were 'morally better' in someway.
These religious movements were typically working class or lower middle class rather than middle class. We see a lot of this attitude still today in slightly different forms - its not a creation of the modern daily mail by any means. But crucially this was supported by the local community.
We see the common theme about the decline of community as part of our wider social problems but little discussion about ways in which we can create it in new ways. This is where the internet fails to provide for human needs and we can't get away from this dilemma. We need to do more to address it.
The victorian idealists who saw workers as an asset rather than a commodity to be exploited.
The philanthropy of the Victorian era where people left public legacies for the betterment of society, don't really exist in the same way in the uk either.
When the Conservatives wanted to push this idea with Big Society what didn't happen was this investment from big businesses or economic elites which would mirrored the past.
Instead it was pushed purely onto the middle class and working class, which ultimately is unsustainable with an aging population.
I also think one of the consequences of covid and Brexit has been to highlight issues with supply chains and our lack of production sector and the problems generally with outsourcing. What we perhaps need to start thinking about is if we 'buy british' and pay more for labour and better quality products it well be perversely cost effective if it means you have people who are less dependant on the state to top up their income and we keep money within our tax system rather than it going elsewhere.
This again, could be seen as right wing and nationalistic, however it has left wing economic benefits which also make sense.
Now I'm massively pro-EU but I think the way our economy has ended up structured has become problematic in the context this and the EU. That does come down to national government failures of planning and long term economic strategy not just the evil EU though.
I think we need to start to see things more as 'counterweighting'. The public interest is served best by balancing competing interests across the board.
Economically and politically.
For that we actually have to talk to an engage with both Labour and the Conservatives rather than encouraging screaming at each other.
Sorry, rambling and increasingly off topic but I'm fed up of threads like this where it is just so pathetically tribal.
Its so fucking self defeating and against our own interests.