Britain’s cheering gloom

Our departing Bagehot columnist concludes that British rage about unfairness is a good sign

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Readers' comments



Mr Rennie,

I wish you well in your America posting and genuinely hope you are more successful than as the Bagehot columnist. This last column sums up your experience perfectly - comfortable in sombre Brussels (you excelled as Charlemagne) but not in raucous London, never attempted to reconcile globalisation with its impact on social cohesion, better suited to technocratic discussions than understanding the mindset of your countrymen.

Whereas your predecessor, Andrew Miller, wrote with insight, wit and warmth you, regrettably, often came across as irritable, obstinate and aloof. You were not the right person for the role. It came across as if you didn't enjoy your brief. Alas, even posing awkwardly in the brown jacket and looking aloof in the picture perfectly illustrates how ill-suited you were for Bagehot.

Good luck on your next adventure and I hope you are more grounded in the future.


Still, voters are convinced that migrants steal jobs.
This is because it's true if you are at the bottom such as a self employed plumber or factory worker who has lost work and job security because immigrant workers undercut wages but do not face the full costs of being a citizen here. I'm sure companies are all for immigrants.
Left liberals (Clegg and Cameron) require meritocracy to be replaced by selection by class (lowest class candidates being favoured over all others with better performance unlike a meritocracy which is class-blind). They will never sell this successfully to the public as it means selecting against the public's own children to meet politician's own political needs and wants rather than what the public want which was, is, and always will be a meritocracy.



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