THEM AND US AND THE LIBERALS
SIR.—Ludovic Kennedy is very optimistic in assuming that the struggle between Them and Us is to all intents and purposes over. It may be true that we are all far closer to one another than ever before. But may it not also be true that this proxim- ity has revealed and exaggerated differences that exist between classes?
To wear a pullover instead of a waistcoat, to eat kippers for tea and not for breakfast, to talk about the toilet and not the loo, all these may be very minor and insignificant differences in themselves but they can be repeated a thousandfold.
Despite the 1944 Education Act, despite Marks and Spencer's, despite the telly and increased pros- perity, sharp class differences still exist in dress, what you eat, how you eat, when and where you eat, what you read, how you speak, how you spend your money, your attitudes to marriage, to your children's education and in practically every sphere of life.
The cumulative effect of these differences is to create such a barrier that social intercourse between working class and middle class becomes almost im- possible. By all means let the Liberals aim at abol- ishing class barriers, but it will be very foolish of them to imagine that differences do not exist.
82 Malden Road, NW 5
ROY E. SHAW
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