There could not have been more social climbing than under this labour Government. A ship's steward as Deputy Prime Minister? Alan Johnson's union start from a sink council estate single parent background? Their desperation to succeed and hold on by their fingernails has been very apparent.

judy, liverpool, england

Mr. Finkelstein:

Not to rain on your parade, but your chicken stunt was copied from the 1992 US election whence James Carville, Bill Clinton's campaign manager, hired a chicken to follow George Bush Snr. around to remind people that Bush was chickening out of holding debates with Clinton

Arthur George KAmya, London,

Do they still make top hats? Isn't it about time they came back into fashion. It would make a change from th ubiquitous baseball cap.

Adrian Gilbert, Tonbridge,

Just out of interest, does ANYBODY use the word "Toff" in normal conversation these days?

Peter, London,

When I started to read this article, I thought, oh no, things must have come to a pretty pass if Daniel is having to stop chickens defecating. I wondered, is this yet another New Labour law? No chickens to defecate and thus spread salmonella? Verboten! This could be called the Edwina Bill, perhaps?

Mike Mitchell, Spalding, England

I think that the Labour Party should possibly have had the toff in Santa Claus outfit with the topper.....................why not....the tories have been puting on a Santa Claus act for about a year

Eric, Southwick, England

Why do they need to hire toffs? John Prescott plays croquet!

Luke, London, UK

The fake toffs didn't look very posh to me; without waistcoats they reminded me most of the Artful Dodger.

But this was merely a tasteless backfiring childish stunt. The ringing up a 4am pretending to be Tory supporters is disgraceful and deserves public censure from the electoral commission.

Andrew Forbes, Thames Ditton, Surrey

It was a foolish tactic, particularly given that the themes of the Labour campaign are far from socialist.
I would like a positive reason to support Labour, and that may mean accepting that the mythical 'middle england' push isn't going to work if all the core voters are alienated.

Mike Homfray, Liverpool,

Ken, Age predjudice is not illegal unless you are 40+. Discrimination against the young is encouraged- why else would there be 2 minimum wages? Why else would devices emitting a sound audible only to those under 25 be all over the country. (Buzz off)

AK, Swindon ,

The whole exercise smells of desperation, and as Daniel Finkelstein rightly points out, will rebound seriously on what is left of the Labour party. I'm not a natural Tory supporter, but the current Government deserve a pasting at this by-election, until they serve everyone, not the favoured few.

Bob Ericson, Tewkesbury, Glos,

Richard: "stupider than" is fine.

martin, Caen, France

There is still a high element of presumptiousness regarding a tory victory...........I hope apologies will be written when Labour see them off tomorrow

Eric, Southwick, England

This is all rather dull stuff.
It does not make the lead story on evening TV-News.
It was far more exicting in Tony's day,
Then John Prescott had what was undoubtedly a pre-arranged punch-up. It was the highlight of what had otherwise become a rather dull Campaign.
BRING BACK BLAIR

Michael Blatchford, Bath , UK

Both "more stupid than" and "stupider than" are acceptable.

Tom Foster, London, UK

Surely as sexual-preference prejudice, racial precidice, gender prejudice, religious prejudice and age prejudice are all now illegal and immoral in labour's eyes, what about class prejudice? Has not labour broken the law in inciting class hatred? Are labour not guilty of hate crimes?

Ken Hall, Barrow in Furness, UK

Kevin Straw ,
Would you be kind enough to provide examples of toffs RUTHLESSLY exploiting an underclass .
Or is this some working class myth foisted on you by your parents.
Without this delusional theory , the Labour party would cease to exist .

Nick Dixon, Sutton Coldfield, England

New Labour ministers resort to such as Mockney speech and the Estuary English dialect to disguise their comfortable backgrounds and quality education, except for the ever-increasing Scottish contingent. Old Labour ministers were never afraid of having their privileged backgrounds known to all.

Padraig, Perth, Australia

I get it: toffs inheriting money is bad. But sons and daughters (Benn, Dunwoody, and even Prescott Jnr in the pipelines, I hear) inheriting Labour safe seats isn't nepotism but being reared on a diet of solid, dependable socialist principles and tradition.

Andrew Forbes, Thames Ditton, Surrey

I read the title as 'had to stop a chicken defecating', pity someone can't stop Gordon Brown doing it all over the British people.

Andrew, Scalloway,

Without class and the notion that all are born equal Socialism, in all its many forms would collapse. But both premises are false. Sociologists find that less than a fifth of the population meet all the criteria of any social class.

R Mason, London, UK

Why is it wrong to be considered successful - if that is what it means to be a "toff". I hardly think that Crew and Nantwiches conservative is a toff. Isn't his family running a chain of shoe repair shops? Thats trade isn't it?

roger, chichester , UK

The toff stunt does Labour no credit. But it pales into insignificance alongside the dishonest, racist Labour claims about foreign nationals and ID cards. The campaign is a disgrace and the Labour Party has forgotten what it is for. I suspect it will be up to the electorate to remind it.

Michael Powell, Colchester, Essex

Socialism always was and always will be "The politics of envy"
NuLabour cannot even aspire to that height."

Peter Bolt, Redditch, UK

Whilst Labour MPs and ministers attended public schools and send their children to public schools, it ill behoves them to criticise somebody for going to a public school. However, it does indicate a 'do as I say, not as I do' attitude towards the rest of us.

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

The difference is - Old Etonians look good in a morning suit. The Labour 'toffs' look as though they've just been to the hire shop and found that their size wasn't in stock.

Richard - the answer is 'stupider'. Check the OED.

Frank Upton, Solihull,

What's the definition of a toff? "A toff won the London mayoral election" someone said.

From what I can see, a toff is someone who had a decent aducation and can speak grammatical English with a 'standard English' accent. Funny, I never thought of myself as a toff. Feels good, somehow.

David Garfield, London, UK

The Toff question may not win votes but it is ,nevertheless, legitimate to ask whether experience and background aid or hinder an MP's ability to comprehend and address the concerns of those whose votes he seeks. It's Crewe not Henley - whatever the shade of blue {blood}.

Tim Perkins, Manchester, Lancs

Imagine if Tories followed Ms Dunwoody around dressed in naff tracky bottoms, pregnant, smoking and swigging beer from a can of tennants super whilst pushing a pram; in some kind of parody of her declared single mum unemployed status. The left would be having a collective fit. Labour's lost the plot

Guy Thompson, London,

I dunno, headless chickens and Labour seem a more natural fit to me,

MIke, Macau, China

That's Grammatical Toffery Richard!

David Kirkham, Highland, Scotland

No Gordon didn't 'kill' NuLab - it was only ever a gloss over OldLab. Now that NuLab is failing, OldLab hacks are returning to influence and they are hitting the buttons which will gladden the hearts of GC members across the country. 'Class war' (or mindless social bigotry) is a big favourite.

Mark, Berkhamsted,

Elitism ( or Toffism as it's called now) hasn't gone away, it's gone underground. The job of the Labour party should be to drag it kicking and screaming from its lair, take its unearned privileges away, and give much more of its money to the underclass in society it ruthlessly exploits.

Kevin Straw, Leicester,

Who wouldn't want to vote for a unmarried, unemployed, mother of five, grand daughter of a baroness, who really lives in a farmhouse set on 6 acres of Welsh farm land.
Why question whether or not she is a toff as well? Opps.. sorry that's the New labour candidate. Hypocrisy yes! Substance no!

Dave, Gibraltar,

Whats worse is that new labour doesn't really get what the masses have been looking for in the party, as the top hat incident clearly demonstrates. Election time please.

RobD, Bracknell, UK

In answer to Tom from Dubai-- gordon did not inherit a sinking ship-- whilst Tony Blair was PM Gordon was the architect of all the disasters now coming home to roost!!!This is all of his own making!!

John, windsor, UK

I wonder why those women in the 1840s screamed and fainted. Perhaps he wasn't wearing his top hat on his head.

eric campbell, harrogate, uk

Well! A toff just won the Mayoral election. That did'nt seem to be a problem for the majority in London. We need a bit of up-front class in all matters and I do not mean snobby chaps in toppers. That is just old hat and no longer edible. Put the lefty champagne away and get down to some hard graft.

Colin , Cambridge, UK

The main reason it fails is that the hierarchy of the Labour Party is scarcely less toffy than that of the Tory Party. They should be reminding the electorate of the damage the Tories did to Crewe's economy in the 80s.

david, ely,

I think the whole stunt shows us that NuLabour has nothing no policies nothing. If all they can do is have a go about the way someone was brought up it says it all.
Grasping at Straws me thinks

Spence, London, England

Isn't the tirade against "toffs" just another 'ism? Had Labour decided to abuse the Conservative candidate because of the colour of his skin it would have been accused of racism (they have not, I would like to say). Yet they are prepared to complain about the schooling inflicted him. Shame!

Andy Wicks, Bexleyheath, United Kingdom

I think this article is right, except that I'm not sure it's fair to say that Gordon Brown killed New Labour, at least not while he has been prime minister. I think he would argue that he inherited, from Tony Blair, a rapidly sinking ship and I think he'd be correct.

Tom, Dubai,

Don't forget: when John Hetherington, a London hatter, wore the first top hat in the 1840s, women screamed and fainted. He was arrested and fined 50 pounds.

It's good to see Labour trying to bring the topper back.

Christopher Chantrill, Seattle, USA

The Toff's stunt is stupider than? or should it be the Toff's stunt is more stupid than?

Richard, Plymouth,