This wasn’t a good week to do your Christmas shopping in Westminster. As most of you will be aware, the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government passed a bill increasing tuition fees for university students. This resulted in protests in Central London, with many people outraged by this decision. This has proved to be the first social issue to define the current British administration.

And as such, it is important that I choose my words very carefully. As this is not about what I think of the government’s decision to increase fees. However, the fallout from the protests seemed to unlock a prejudice from some that is still tolerated in the UK. That is the prejudice towards the upper classes.

For those not in Britain, class is often a secondary social issue. For example, it’s said that most events in America are filtered through the prism of race – which given its past is not that surprising. Well in Britain, the same can be said about class. And this has only been magnified by David Cameron becoming Prime Minister in May.

Cameron & his Chancellor, George Osborne are both products of the public school system (that’s private school for those not in the UK). Essentially they were born with silver spoons in their mouths. And there are certain section of society that won’t let them forget it. In ‘Prime Minister’s Questions’ this week, one Labour backbench MP (Kerry McCarthy) took to the floor to call out David Cameron for his apparent liking of the British indie band, The Smiths. You see, both Morrissey & Johnny Marr had recently stated that they ‘forbid’ Cameron to be a fan of theirs.

Now this is such a non-event to barely justify a mention. But this relates to the perception of class. Whether Cameron is a genuine fan of The Smiths is irrelevant. But claiming that he’s a lover of a band that are regarded as working class – and were formed in Manchester (annoying as it is, the North of England is still regarded as ‘salt of the earth’) is an attempt to give him credibility with ordinary members of the British public who are not as privileged as himself.

And Morrissey, Marr & McCarthy pulling Cameron up on this is sends a clear statement, “You’re not one of us. Go back to your opera nights and your caviar.”

I’m still yet to comprehend what it is about being born into money that riles others less fortunate. But it does exist. For the most part, when I’ve heard criticism of Cameron or Osborne from the public, their upbringing is often mentioned rather than their policy decisions. I wasn’t publicly schooled myself, but I fail to see why it’s still used by some as a pejorative.

And during these protests in London, it became painfully apparent that those who hold such a prejudice have hijacked the issue of student fees from those who had a justifiable gripe. While many exercised their right to protest respectfully, others used it as an excuse to vandalise property, set off flares, and light fires in the street. The whole event was crystallised when people threw missiles at a car carrying the Prince of Wales & The Duchess of Cornwall. “Off with their heads” and “Tory Scum” was also shouted.

Now putting to one side the fact that we are in 2010 Britain and not pre-revolutionary France, the “Tory Scum” chant was telling. I don’t know whether Charles & Camilla are in support of the government’s financial policy, or even if they are supporters of the Conservative Party, but the actions of the vandals spoke volumes. “You’re privileged, the Conservative Party are privileged. You’re all the same!”

Now I’d think no decent person would condone the actions of these idiots. But what’s far worse than their rabble-rousing is that they’ve taken the actual issue out of the public domain. Read any newspaper or (if you can stomach it) the comments sections of the online editions of said newspapers. This has now turned into Rich vs Poor/ Working Class vs Upper Class/ Young vs Old. Anger (justified or not) is supplanting rational response and this not also causes polarisation but is also anathema to any kind of progress. The students who are going to be left in potentially crippling debt have been forgotten. And now the story focuses on The Prince of Wales and the moronic behaviour of those who attacked Nelson’s Column.

What saddens and frustrates in equal measure is that I fear Pandora’s Box has now been opened. The class war is back in the forefront of the public consciousness and while it makes great copy for journalists and causes plenty of heated debate online, what good does it actually do?

To be frank, I don’t care about any of it. I don’t care where George Osborne went to school. I don’t care if David Cameron is being disingenuous about his music tastes. I care about my three younger sisters deciding against going to university because they’re put off by the potential expense. I care about how the government are focusing on cutting spending while they seem uninterested in saving money by clamping down on benefit cheats or the millions of pounds lost each year in unpaid tax.

And while every person under the age of 25 is now being tarred with the same brush as the guy who hung off the Union Flag on the Cenotaph Monument, there has been minimal coverage of police officers who took advantage of the chaos to abuse their power and injure many innocent protestors. Personally I’d happily take the violent elements of both police and protestors, stick them in a cage and let them wipe each other out.

Because so much of what happened was wrong. The vandalism was wrong, the attacks on protestors were wrong. And the way the media has changed the narrative is wrong.

Some have said that a positive to come from this is that it has politicised a new generation. Well in and of itself, that’s not necessarily a good thing. Causing a generation to think that being born into money instantly disqualifies you from having morals is not good. Neither is thinking that violence is acceptable because you disagree with government policy. I see no positive coming from a Britain that turns into an absurd contest with the rich upper classes on one side and the poor working classes on the other. It’s both reductive and insulting to anyone with a brain.

Just look at America in the past decade. Watching conservatism in the U.S be plundered by Roger Ailes and his minions at Fox News is a clear warning sign to what can happen when the actions of the extreme swamp those who are genuinely irked by the actions of those in power. What many have neglected to mention is that university tuition fees were going to increase regardless of the result of May’s General Election. There was a reason why the issue was seldom mentioned during the campaign. Both Labour and the Conservatives had agreed to leave the subject of tuition fees off the table as they both knew that an increase was inevitable. It seems obvious that the reason Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats were so firm about not increasing fees was because they never dreamed that they’d actually be in a position to make policy decisions. It’s easy to promise the earth when you don’t think you’ll have to follow through on those promises.

I’ve always liked how in comparison to other countries, Britain is relatively restrained when it comes to political & social issues. Disagreeing without being disagreeable is a noble and decent trait. But because of a minority of idiots, I worry that this may no longer be the norm.

I dearly hope that those who take issue with the policy of this current government continue to protest and write to their MP’s. And I equally hope that the people who have a chip on their shoulder regarding someone’s upbringing are shut out of the debate. If you disagree with David Cameron, that’s fine – I consider myself to be one of those dissenters. But the second one decides to behave like a hooligan, they lose the right to have a say.

Because shouting louder doesn’t increase the clarity of your voice. It just causes others to want to get away from the noise.

Shane Thomas – Greatest Events In Sporting History