Whilst I don't believe Sarah Palin represents the future for Feminism, I do recognise that Patrician John McCain's choice of Republican running-mate reflects his appreciation of the importance of class politics in the United States, as in this country. For many people class identification remains as important as other forms of social affiliation, including ethnic origin, and, however much some politicians may talk of a "Classless Society" this is not the reality. Nor is it without irony, therefore, that both the US Democratic and UK New Labour Parties have are faring less well on the "Class Issue" at the present time than there Conservative counterparts.
Over here, the case of Blackpool is a good example of the failure of New Labour to understand Class Politics with the result that the local council has recently, after many years under Labour control, turned Conservative. Now Blackpoool in a "Political Town" in so far as it has been one of the main Party Conference venues, although it has been the preferred host of the Conservatives, Labour preferring Metropolitan and Southern venues in recent years. Moreover, the Super Casino fiasco also left Blackpool (and a few other places for that matter) in the lurch, as the townhad been positioning itself for some time as the Las Vegas of the North of England.
Blackpool sees itself as a the UK Capital of Entertainment (as distinct from Culture), and its appeal is to the more traditional tastes of the Working Classes. This is a town apparently fuelled by the flow of alcohol, the downside of which is that it has some of the highest rates of alcoholism in England; and some of the worse deprivation because traditional working class pleasures, and pleasure grounds like Blackpool - as well as other sea-side towns - have been out-of-favour with their New Labour "Social Worker". I mean by "Her", Liberal Elite "feminists" like Deputy Party Leader Harriet Harman and former Culture Secretary (now Olympics Minister) Tessa Jowell.
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