Tuesday, November 13, 2007

T.E.A.: Do Privileged Tory Toffs Need Legal Protection?


Tory Barrister Evan Price calls doesn't quite call for a Tory Toff Equality Act.

By Chris Paul at 6:10 pm

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually I don't call for any legislation at all. I deprecate the prejudice that is displayed and say that I believe it to be unacceptable.

13 November, 2007 18:54
Anonymous said...

BTW, there are 'toffs' as you call them in every party!

13 November, 2007 18:58
Chris Paul said...

There are of course "toffs" in every party but there is a difference between them in how they see things going. More hereditory advantage or less? Clearly I say less. I believe there is also quite a difference between Labour toffs like Benn and Dalyell (and Blair? not so sure) and Tory and Lib Dem toffs in their engagement and empathy with real life issues. And I believe that hatching plans to favour toffs like the extension of IHT limits to three times the current to the advantage of 3,000 estates shows this difference.

On the legislation point you are right. But you're close to it and it is more amusing to suggest that as you are calling for the same treatment as disadvantaged groups that do have laws for your advantaged group you probably want laws ...

But your point is "given" and an amendment ensues.

13 November, 2007 20:58
Anonymous said...

I don't say that the prejudice is the same either or that the treatment of it should be the same ... merely that I think that the prejudice on this basis is also unacceptable perjudice.

14 November, 2007 09:44
Chris Paul said...

Well Evan you are the trained up advocate. You know best.

But surely when you suggest a substitution of "woman" or "gay" for "toff" in a supposedly discriminatory observation in comments over at your blog you are - utterly wrongly I feel - suggesting there is an equivalence.

There is none. The prejudice, or perhaps we should say discrimination?, we are discussing is of a particular group of toffs i.e. Tory Toffs.

By their words and deeds they appear to demonstrate an over confidence, a detachment from reality, an arrogance, even a being out for their own people kind of attitude that arguably makes them unfit to lead, manage or govern.

No one is saying these things about women or gays or people from different national or ethnic but if they did they'd be slammed.

There is fair discrimination as well as unfair discrimination and calling Tory Toffs for being such - when e.g. their IHT policy demonstrably favours a tiny groups of hugely advantaged families and when this is spun as if it helps everyone - surely cannot be considered prejudice? It is self-interest plus propaganda.

14 November, 2007 11:10
Anonymous said...

RE the IHT proposition, the tax is probably one of the 'oldest' of the taxes in that the Crown used to obtain the largest proportion of its income from payments made by successors to the title of land before the temporary tax, income tax, was introduced.

In modern taxation, inheritance tax is now seen as a tax on capital accrued over a lifetime most of which has already been taxed. The result is that it is described as a tax on aspiration. I accept that there is room for argument about windfalls that arise from the property market, but the reality is that the proposal has struck a chord.

14 November, 2007 11:47

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