The former Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock (the one before the one before Blair) was often lambasted for his verbosity and ultimately for his political judgment. But it was hard to deny his skills as an orator, often unscripted and unprompted.
On the eve of Labour’s crushing defeat in the 1983 general election – he became the party leader shortly after – he said the following: “If Margaret Thatcher wins on Thursday, I warn you not to be ordinary, I warn you not to be young, I warn you not to fall ill, and I warn you not to grow old.”
If you add to that, the attributes of being gay (and having the temerity to want to get married), being poor, requiring an abortion, being a non-believer and a few other fairly obvious characteristics, then that’s kind of how it feels right here, right now. We’ll be alright, but that’s not really the point – is it?