Monday, September 18, 2006

Upper Class Lefties

We've seen the background of media darling Jon Snow.

But compared to the Guardian's Felicity Arbuthnot, Snow is a raving Tory. Anyone who can seriously compare US policy in Iraq with Pol Pot's Year Zero has a different angle on reality. No wonder she and John Pilger are as close as any two people can be without signing a civil partnership form.

Idly wondering about her aristocratic-sounding name, I did a quick Google.

Blimey.

Felicity Anne Clarendon-Hyde (mind you, if she came from this family, she might have married down) married into a family of blue-bloods whose connections are straight out of a Python sketch. A little map of a corner of upper-class Britain, with more soldiers 100 years ago and more solicitors now.

Thelma Grace Arbuthnot. Born 3 October 1911. Died 23 June 1974. Married first, 8 October 1932, Somerset Struben de Chair, ygr son of Admiral Sir Dudley Rawson Stratford de Chair, KCB, KCMG, MVO. Divorced 1950. He remarried more than once.

Rodney Somerset de Chair. Born July 1935. Educated Wellesley House, Broadstairs. Married first Sarah Trubshawe. Married second, 10 July 2000, Camilla ("Cilla") Joy Victoria Burdett-Blackett.


The younger generation are doing well :

Alexander Broadbent Arbuthnot. Born 1 May 1986. Educated Westminster under school; Eton College; Imperial College, London (Physics).

Katherine Rose Joste Arbuthnot. Born 14 July 1989. Educated The Lycée, then Highfield, then Wycombe Abbey.

Eleanor Sophie Duff Arbuthnot. Born 11 August 1992. Educated The Lycée, then Wycombe Abbey.

Alice Wemyss Tempest Arbuthnot. Born 31 May 1998. Educated The Lycée.


I see David Hare, another upper-class leftie, also married in. Different world.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's always been the British upper classes who were the raving lefties. Think of the Mitfords. Bertrand Russell. I wonder why. No connection with the real world? No idea how hard most people have to work to survive - especially in the early half of the last century?

Why is this a particularly British disease, I wonder? Or is it?

Martin said...

The British Upper Class Declaration of Faith -

There is no god but Moolah, and whoever's got it is his messenger.

Anonymous said...

Why is this a particularly British disease, I wonder? Or is it?

George Soros?

Anonymous said...

Is no-one going to mention Anthony Wedgewood Benn? Or has he become a loveable old eccentric now?

There are idiots in all classes of society, unfortunately - and I am sure it is NOT just in Britain. For those of humble origins of course it is particularly irritating to have those with no idea of life at the bottom promoting the very ideas that have made it worse.

But we have to be careful about focussing on this. The logical corollary of "toffs should be Tories", is that "non-toffs shouldn't be Tories". They should. Lots of them. And given appropriate leadership and policies to vote for, they are quite prepared to be, as history has shown.

Anonymous said...

"There is no god but Moolah, and whoever's got it is his messenger."

Thanks for making me laugh out loud in the office, Martin.....

Anonymous said...

Martin said: "There is no god but Moolah", but that is not the case among the lefties we're talking about. A lot of these aristocrats and relatives off the main branch, were on their uppers and they were still promoting communismm

That's not it at all.

And among the Americans, they weren't promoting communism because they believed there was no god but money. People like the loathesome Kennedy's and Katherin Hepburn's family, etc, simply had the arrogance to think they knew what was best for "the little people". I think it is sheer arrogance and a total misunderstanding of their own importance on this earth.

British or American, they all share this absolutely certainty that they know better than anyone else what's best for other people.

Anonymous said...

Plus, it seems to happen in the generation following the generation that made the money. Joe Kennedy didn't give a shit about "the little people". It was Jack and Robert Kennedy who developed a Mahatama-esque interest in "the little people". John D Rockfeller interest in "the little people" was limited to whether there were enough of them to work in his industries for a pittance. It was the next generation that started wanting to direct their lives.

Anonymous said...

Yes but you wouldn't get jobs in the media unless you have connections..........look at them all - you need family connections to get in the door; you need private income because of the crappy wages and no-salary jobs to get a foothold.

It used to be you had to be well-heeled to be a barrister and well-connected to be a Merchant Banker - now it is BBC and Media Jobs that need Daddy's Rolodex.

James G. said...

That's because anyone can be a barrister or a banker nowadays, dahling

Anonymous said...

Its interesting to watch how nepotism has crept into the broadcast media. Used to be somewhat meritocratic but thats changed in the last generation.

AntiCitizenOne said...

Think of it more in this light.

The British upper classes are all the sons/daughters of those who made their money the real way. They have
a) Never worked in their lives.
b) Never had any incentive to work.
c) Allways known they would get money if they didn't work.

Over time they get an expectation they are entitled to the money.

Does this not sound like the UKs benefit addicted underclass?

Anonymous said...

The upper and lower classes have a lot in common - not least a disdain for the morals of the middle classes that pay all the bills. The upper classs also have a tendency to support totalitarianism - whether it is Stalin or Hitler. They don't like the idea of liberal individualism since it destorys their notions of hierarchy.

Anonymous said...

Andrew Neil interviewing Lord Poool & McShane on UK relations with US under a Brown premiership.

McShane declares Brown to be close to the US, he takes his holidays there.

So does Jon Snow.

Seems there is a difference between Cape Cod & the US as a whole.

Anonymous said...

interesting that much of the old aristocratic pre war elite was actively involved in promoting Nazism in the Uk and their descendants having revolted and are now liberals promoting the fascist agendas of islamists.
Prince Charles heavily promoted the building of the notorious Finsbury park mosque in which Abu Hamza was paid by HMS and given a free hand to plan the destruction of the Britons in their homeland .
The indoctrination centre of richard reid amongst many others.
Charles and the elites that surround him were preaching that only Islam addresses the problems of spirituality in the west and that true islam abhors violence . In 1993 ho told students at Oxford (where he was patron of islamic studies) that The islamic world had more respect for Women's Rights that Europe.
here we have the leader of British Christians leading his "people" into future islamic slavery.
One can only wonder if the failure of the british government to act for so many years to close the Finsbury park mosque is the result of the influence of these elites.

Anonymous said...

The Mitfords? Lefties?

What, ALL the Mitfords?

How about the one who married Roderick Spode, then?