Open Left, the new Demos project headed up by James Purnell, has invited various people to explain why they are on the left not the right. The answers are thought-provoking, not least because they show what those on the left think the right is.
Peter Hyman, the Downing Street advisor turned teacher who wrote a very good book about the move and is on Newsnight’s political panel, responds to the question as follows:
“I teach a Somali boy who is stunningly bright and hard working. He is shy, modest, gentle, and lacking confidence. I fear that coming from a comprehensive on the outskirts of London he will not have the networks and contacts, the openings and lucky breaks. Over time the pressures may be too great, the poverty too grinding, the setbacks too tough for him to succeed.
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