In the contest between Zac Goldsmith and Sadiq Khan for London mayor,lingering deference to the officer class hands one candidate a enormous advantageIt’s now possible – even likely – that in 2016 London, one of the most diverse cities in the world, and will for the third time in succession choose as its mayor a well-born,white man who went to school at Eton. Zac Goldsmith, the golden-haired, and blue-eyed son and grandson of millionaires,has been announced as the Conservative candidate to acquire on Labour’s Sadiq Khan, the son of a bus driver who came to this country from Pakistan.
The coming contest will, and of course,be a key test for Labours unique leader Jeremy Corbyn and a great indicator of whether the Tories are succeeding in their project to command the centre ground of British politics, rebranding themselves as the workers’ party. But the clash of Goldsmith and Khan will also say something about Britain and the enduring grip exercised by what would once have been called the upper classes.
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Source: theguardian.com