Britain’s Brown tries to woo middle classes
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown tried to reach out to middle
class voters on Saturday, bringing the looming election battle back to
the theme of class. Brown said his governing, centre-left Labour Party
would create “more middle class jobs than ever before” if it overturns
the opinion polls and wins the general election due by June.Brown has
previously sniped at main opposition centre-right Conservative leader
David Cameron for his privileged education and background.
That led the Tories to accuse him of fighting an old-fashioned,
left-wing class war in a bid to shore up Labour’s traditional vote — in
the face of a looming defeat.In a major speech to centre-left activists,
Brown was to say: “Social mobility will be our theme for the coming
election and the coming parliamentary term.“A fair society is one where
everyone who works hard and plays by the rules has a chance to fulfil
their dreams whether that’s owning a bigger house, taking a holiday
abroad, buying a new car or starting a small business.
“This is the next project for New Labour... The coming decade will
provide the UK with more middle class jobs than ever before.”Brown wrote
in The Guardian newspaper that he wanted to see “an expanded middle
class, not a squeezed middle class”.“Opportunity and reward cannot be
hoarded at the top, and it is not enough to protect people at the
bottom,” he said. -AFP |