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Patronising Bastards: How the Elites Betrayed Britain
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain, Quentin Letts, comes his blistering new book on how Britain's out-of-touch, illiberal elite fills its boots.'HILARIOUS' Daily Mail'With its vicious takedowns, Quentin Letts' laugh-out-loud Patronising Bastards will have the lefty-elite running scared' The SunNot since Marie Antoinette said 'Let them eat cake' have the peasants been so revolting. Western capitalism's elites are Brexit, Trump, and maybe more eruptions to follow. But their rulers were so good to them! Hillary Clinton called the ingrates 'a basket of deplorables', Bob Geldof flicked them a V sign, Tony Blair thought voters too thick to understand the question. Wigged judges stared down their legalistic noses at a surging, pongy populous.These people who know best, these snooterati with their faux-liberal ways, are the 'Patronising Bastards'. Their downfall is largely of their own making - their Sybaritic excesses, an obsession with political correctness, the prolonged rape of reason and rite. You'll find these self-indulgent show-ponys not just in politics and the cloistered old institutions but also in high fashion, football, among the clean-eating foodies and at the Baftas and Oscars, where celebritydom hires PR smoothies to massage reputations and mislead, distort, twist. Political columnist and bestselling author Quentin Letts identifies these condescending creeps and their networks, their methods and their dubious morals. Letts kebabs them like mutton. It's baaaahd. It's juicy.Richard Branson, Emma Thompson, Shami Chakrabarti, Jean-Claude Juncker and any head waiter who calls you 'young man' - this one's for you!
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 12, 2017
64 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Quentin Letts
14 books12 followersQuentin Letts is a British journalist and theatre critic, writing for The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Oldie and New Statesman, and previously for The Times.
He was later educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, Bellarmine College, Kentucky (now Bellarmine University), Trinity College, Dublin where he edited a number of publications, including the satirical Piranha, and studied Medieval and Renaissance Literature (1982–86) at Jesus College, Cambridge, taking a Diploma in Classical Archaeology.
Letts has written for a number of British newspapers since beginning his journalistic career in 1987. His first post was with the Peterborough gossip column in the Daily Telegraph. For a time in the mid-1990s he was New York correspondent for The Times. He is the person behind the Daily Mail's Clement Crabbe column and is also the paper's theatre critic and political sketchwriter. He lists his hobbies in Who's Who as "gossip" and "character defenestration".
His columns have been described as "attempts at faintly homophobic humour" in The Guardian, which accused him of being "busy guarding what children should and shouldn't see in the theatre". He has also been accused of misogyny over an attack on Harriet Harman.
Letts presented an edition of the BBC current affairs programme Panorama broadcast on April 20, 2009. The programme dealt with the growing criticism of the influence of health and safety on various aspects of British life.
Letts has written three books, the bestselling 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain, Bog-Standard Britain, and Letts Rip! all with his UK publisher Constable & Robinson. In Bog Standard Britain he attacks what he sees as Britain's culture of mediocrity, where political correctness has, in his words "crushed the individualism from our nation of once indignant eccentrics". 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain has sold around 45,000 copies and was reviewed in The Spectator as "an angry book, beautifully written". In a published extract, he argued that 1970s feminist writer Germaine Greer may, by asserting female sexuality, have given rise to the modern phenomenon of "ladettes" and that this encouraged men to behave badly to women, thus doing the cause of equality a disservice.
He was later educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, Bellarmine College, Kentucky (now Bellarmine University), Trinity College, Dublin where he edited a number of publications, including the satirical Piranha, and studied Medieval and Renaissance Literature (1982–86) at Jesus College, Cambridge, taking a Diploma in Classical Archaeology.
Letts has written for a number of British newspapers since beginning his journalistic career in 1987. His first post was with the Peterborough gossip column in the Daily Telegraph. For a time in the mid-1990s he was New York correspondent for The Times. He is the person behind the Daily Mail's Clement Crabbe column and is also the paper's theatre critic and political sketchwriter. He lists his hobbies in Who's Who as "gossip" and "character defenestration".
His columns have been described as "attempts at faintly homophobic humour" in The Guardian, which accused him of being "busy guarding what children should and shouldn't see in the theatre". He has also been accused of misogyny over an attack on Harriet Harman.
Letts presented an edition of the BBC current affairs programme Panorama broadcast on April 20, 2009. The programme dealt with the growing criticism of the influence of health and safety on various aspects of British life.
Letts has written three books, the bestselling 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain, Bog-Standard Britain, and Letts Rip! all with his UK publisher Constable & Robinson. In Bog Standard Britain he attacks what he sees as Britain's culture of mediocrity, where political correctness has, in his words "crushed the individualism from our nation of once indignant eccentrics". 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain has sold around 45,000 copies and was reviewed in The Spectator as "an angry book, beautifully written". In a published extract, he argued that 1970s feminist writer Germaine Greer may, by asserting female sexuality, have given rise to the modern phenomenon of "ladettes" and that this encouraged men to behave badly to women, thus doing the cause of equality a disservice.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
October 25, 2020
This was absolutely awful. Being a parliamentary sketchwriter, I was expecting humour along with a less 'lefty' vibe than I would usually read. The latter was true, but as a series of unconnected rants about legitimate issues and easy targets that were inconsistent and unfunny. This was not how elites betrayed Britain, this was 'people I dislike and why'.
The idea was that Brexit was a vote against elites who know what's best for us, and this book would act as a tirade against those who tell us what to do with no knowledge of what it's really like. Instead it's a collection of short rants against various liberal lefties, drawing on such astute techniques as making fun of people's names and taking contradictory stances depending on the target's views, followed by 'he is now on his third wife'.
Anyone familiar with Adam Buxton or Jon Robins will know of a certain style of gag delivered in a stupid voice making fun of cliched jokes, and now I know of one person who uses them in a non-ironic manner. One hilarious example that comes to mind was 'Ofgem, Ofwat, Offwithyourknickers' but they were littered throughout. If you can't make a coherent argument, you could at least make it funny.
The strange thing is that I could be receptive to his ideas. I dislike hypocritical virtue signalers. I dislike Richard Branson and don't understand why he has this cuddly image rather than that of a hard businessman. I dislike corporate euphemisms and nonsense. But Stella Creasy can't campaign for the little man because she went to Oxbridge? Alan Bennett can't ask a Government to make society fairer where it can because some things are beyond Government control? And everyone knows clean eating is a fad, but having a TV show doesn't mean these people have any actual power. And when criticising them, you don't need to bang on about how gorgeous you think they are, nor for Alan Milburn.
Sometimes he would surprise you - who would have thought that bike-riding, helmet-cam sporting Jeremy Vine would be on the sympathetic end of his ranting? But mostly this was a load of tedious rubbish and a waste of time. The only positive is that sometimes reading different points of view serves only to justify your own more.
The idea was that Brexit was a vote against elites who know what's best for us, and this book would act as a tirade against those who tell us what to do with no knowledge of what it's really like. Instead it's a collection of short rants against various liberal lefties, drawing on such astute techniques as making fun of people's names and taking contradictory stances depending on the target's views, followed by 'he is now on his third wife'.
Anyone familiar with Adam Buxton or Jon Robins will know of a certain style of gag delivered in a stupid voice making fun of cliched jokes, and now I know of one person who uses them in a non-ironic manner. One hilarious example that comes to mind was 'Ofgem, Ofwat, Offwithyourknickers' but they were littered throughout. If you can't make a coherent argument, you could at least make it funny.
The strange thing is that I could be receptive to his ideas. I dislike hypocritical virtue signalers. I dislike Richard Branson and don't understand why he has this cuddly image rather than that of a hard businessman. I dislike corporate euphemisms and nonsense. But Stella Creasy can't campaign for the little man because she went to Oxbridge? Alan Bennett can't ask a Government to make society fairer where it can because some things are beyond Government control? And everyone knows clean eating is a fad, but having a TV show doesn't mean these people have any actual power. And when criticising them, you don't need to bang on about how gorgeous you think they are, nor for Alan Milburn.
Sometimes he would surprise you - who would have thought that bike-riding, helmet-cam sporting Jeremy Vine would be on the sympathetic end of his ranting? But mostly this was a load of tedious rubbish and a waste of time. The only positive is that sometimes reading different points of view serves only to justify your own more.
April 3, 2018
I picked this up because I’m trying to read outside of my echo chamber, and boy was this right outside it! There were certainly sentences that made me cringe, particularly some of the language use to describe women. However, as the writer is also a tabloid journalist I appreciated a peek into the kind of ideas circulating there that I’m a bit my shielded too, and I agreed with some of them. In particular, the discomfort of ‘the regular man’ being treated like a child by some of the ‘cosmopolitan elite’. I think I fall between the two. Yeah I have a degree, but I went as a working mature student and single mother eligible for my fees to be paid by the uni (forever grateful) because I ticked their widening participation box. The point made in the book about academics signing letters really opened my eyes - I’ve banged on academically and professionally about experiential knowledge, yet not really questioned why the cognitive knowledge of person a is often held in higher regard than the lived experience of version b. Yes I have a Hemsley sisters cookbook and knew all the foods described in that chapter, but I’ve only ever cooked one recipe and I’m typing this as fish fingers, oven chips and frozen peas for cook dinner. The point made in the book about most people being more interested in ‘normal’ food (after a busy day) really hit a nerve - I own a whole food shop, I believe in the ethically sourced products I sell: a reminder to me I need to think of ways to reach the ‘average joe’ with the affordable stuff we sell and not be too niche. Yes, I voted leave in the EU referendum, but I’m against a second referendum and believe it’s up to parliament to debate, amend and vote for a deal. The point about just how - and perhaps a little about why - many expert views were ignored, and the audacity of remainers surety of themselves really struck a chord. The people were asked and the people voted. On that final point I can agree with the author that a few remainers I’ve come across should have a look in the mirror and ensure they’re not being patronising bastards.
April 30, 2020
I went into this book expecting a read about a Brexit supporter hitting out at all the lefties and MPs who tried to thwart democracy by blocking us leaving the EU after the Referendum. Yes there was some of that and those opening couple of chapters were entertaining. But it then seemed to descend into just having a go at everyone he doesn't like and frankly some of the reasons given were a bit dumb. And who really cares if he thinks Alan Milburn was good looking or not? Some of the digs were nasty and it didn't keep the lighthearted humour that I expected from reading his columns in the newspaper. It just wasn't my kind of thing.
January 1, 2018
This book, in which Quentin Letts shoots vituperation from the hip at the snooterati, condescending Quango-operatives and cosy establishment lefties, will be roundly ignored by its targets as beneath their contempt. Quite what Jane Garvey and Matt Baker have done to be omitted from his top 100 PBs I cannot imagine.
February 21, 2023
A book about patronising bastards, by a patronising bastard. If this did what it says on the tin and was a functioning critique of 'the technocrats who dehumanise our country's institutions, replacing common sense with rigid procedure', then it might be an enjoyable and insightful book.
Instead, Letts uses it as an excuse to write about anybody and everybody who annoys him or disagrees with him. He attempts numerous cheap gags, none of which come off, and he resorts to personal attacks that mark him out as a hypocrite.
Often, Letts points out when a ‘patronising bastard’ went to private school, or Oxbridge, or had a job that places them squarely into the Establishment. Readers may be surprised, then, to learn that Letts attended Haileybury and Cambridge before embarking on his tour of Britain’s leading centre-right and right newspapers. In the final chapter, he even seems to see himself as some kind of radical, anti-Establishment writer because he was writing (at the time) for the Daily Mail.
He also enjoys pointing out the divorcees among his ‘patronising bastards’, as if being divorced is a terrible and unforgivable fault. Is this really the same Quentin Letts who spent Boris Johnson’s premiership in rapt admiration for that paragon of marital virtue?
Then there's the serious case of name-dropping which Letts appears to be suffering from, telling us about his meetings with some of the 'patronising bastards' he mentions, or his family connections. All these demonstrated was that he's part of the Establishment he's written a book criticising. How patronising, to think that his readers won't see this hypocrisy.
Instead, Letts uses it as an excuse to write about anybody and everybody who annoys him or disagrees with him. He attempts numerous cheap gags, none of which come off, and he resorts to personal attacks that mark him out as a hypocrite.
Often, Letts points out when a ‘patronising bastard’ went to private school, or Oxbridge, or had a job that places them squarely into the Establishment. Readers may be surprised, then, to learn that Letts attended Haileybury and Cambridge before embarking on his tour of Britain’s leading centre-right and right newspapers. In the final chapter, he even seems to see himself as some kind of radical, anti-Establishment writer because he was writing (at the time) for the Daily Mail.
He also enjoys pointing out the divorcees among his ‘patronising bastards’, as if being divorced is a terrible and unforgivable fault. Is this really the same Quentin Letts who spent Boris Johnson’s premiership in rapt admiration for that paragon of marital virtue?
Then there's the serious case of name-dropping which Letts appears to be suffering from, telling us about his meetings with some of the 'patronising bastards' he mentions, or his family connections. All these demonstrated was that he's part of the Establishment he's written a book criticising. How patronising, to think that his readers won't see this hypocrisy.
August 5, 2019
Read this as it was a gift and I thought it would be good for me to read something outside of my normal sphere of opinion. A lot of it read like a grumpy old so-and-so's rants on how everyone else is wrong, though there was some justifiable lampooning of bureaucratic nonsense and job / wealth creation out of nothing. The author did come across as misogynistic though: he criticised men and he criticised women, but only the women received extensive ridicule of their personal appearances - this was noticeable throughout. There was some critique of church mission statements at one point, though the author missed a trick as one he ridiculed is actually a bible verse, so couldn't be more apt. I did enjoy the chapter on architecture though and thoroughly agree with opinions there about the patronising establishment telling us what makes a great modern building. I'm with Prince Charles on that one.
February 10, 2019
4.5 stars
Although I don't agree with everything that Quentin Letts has to say in this book, I still think it is an excellent read. If you enjoy satire, you will probably enjoy this. Letts gives his opinion on a wide range of what he calls "the elite" and how they have lorded it over us lesser mortals - however, he does make a distinction between people who honestly voted for what they thought was right (regarding Brexit) and those who have used Brexit to try and further themselves. I thought it an amusing read.
Although I don't agree with everything that Quentin Letts has to say in this book, I still think it is an excellent read. If you enjoy satire, you will probably enjoy this. Letts gives his opinion on a wide range of what he calls "the elite" and how they have lorded it over us lesser mortals - however, he does make a distinction between people who honestly voted for what they thought was right (regarding Brexit) and those who have used Brexit to try and further themselves. I thought it an amusing read.
January 15, 2019
I picked up this book hoping for something amusing and well written but have to say that I gave up within a couple of hours reading.
To me it was an unpleasant and nasty book, going out of its way to say the worse things it could about a range of people the author considers to be liberal and left wing and part of the elite.
I don't deny the need to debunk those of the elite who consider themselves as entitled to their positions and manner of carrying on their lives and business but felt that in casting the net, we might want to aim for some fish on the right well as the left and also a few journalists, perhaps?
Positioning felt like an author setting himself up as some sort of friend-of-the-people, right-on, right-wing, clever chum who told it as it was. On the one hand it tried to be plain-speaking while on the other using words and quoting quotes which made it seem elitist of itself.
Holding my hands up to say I found it repellent and whatever the faults or failings of the people being dissed here, I found it intensely irritating.
I disliked this guy when he appeared on the panel show Have I got News for You and I dislike this book.
To me it was an unpleasant and nasty book, going out of its way to say the worse things it could about a range of people the author considers to be liberal and left wing and part of the elite.
I don't deny the need to debunk those of the elite who consider themselves as entitled to their positions and manner of carrying on their lives and business but felt that in casting the net, we might want to aim for some fish on the right well as the left and also a few journalists, perhaps?
Positioning felt like an author setting himself up as some sort of friend-of-the-people, right-on, right-wing, clever chum who told it as it was. On the one hand it tried to be plain-speaking while on the other using words and quoting quotes which made it seem elitist of itself.
Holding my hands up to say I found it repellent and whatever the faults or failings of the people being dissed here, I found it intensely irritating.
I disliked this guy when he appeared on the panel show Have I got News for You and I dislike this book.
July 13, 2020
Coruscating expose of the sanctimonious, hypocritical elite who think it is one rule for them and another rule for the 'little people'. Charity is now big business for CEOs with six figure salaries and the staff being paid to heckle people in the street or cold call them on their telephones or doorstep. Raising money for charity is less for altruistic reasons rather than good PR and an excuse to throw a party. Corporate jollies enable management to spend company money schmoozing at plush hotels while the worker drones toil away in the sweatshops and their websites waffle on about 'mission statements' and 'values' which are just a cynical marketing ploy. Celebrities preach to the minions about saving the environment while they fly around the globe on private jets, drive around in gas guzzling people carriers and run palatial households that use up the fossil fuels they claim they want to conserve!
October 25, 2017
What a glorious book to luxuriate in. Speaking truth to power and reminding those (especially those who we don’t elect) that we the people are the real decision makers is a wonderful thing.
This book dissects the “do as I say, not as I do” brigade and any list that has that mini-Stalin, Sir Richard Branson, as its number one patronising bastard, is a good thing.
This book dissects the “do as I say, not as I do” brigade and any list that has that mini-Stalin, Sir Richard Branson, as its number one patronising bastard, is a good thing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2018
Quentin Letts' latest book is a brilliant political social satire of the British elites. From politicians to civil servants and from art curators to luvvies he doesn't spare them from his humorous but sharp critique. A must read for anybody who takes her/himself too seriously.
October 30, 2017
Fearless expose of self interested people who think they are superior to others. Presented with lots of humor & a spicy touch of sarcasm. Letts is a master writer at the top of his skill.
February 25, 2023
J'accuse. Quentin Letts of being a disingenuous, hypocritical wannabe clown.
Hypocritical, because by the end of the book you realise that he has set himself up as an expert in spotting and taking down the so-called patronising bastards. These are the people who set themselves up as having some form of privileged perspective, that we should listen to them. Like Quentin, on the very subject he's put himself up on a pedestal to lecture us about.
A clown because, as at least a couple of episodes of the excellent podcast 'Rule of Three' has covered, repetition is central to the art of clowning. Repeat something, like tying your shoelaces together or hitting yourself in the face, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over, then repeat a few times more, and it goes beyond irritating and comes out the other side as funny. Except here it just gets more and more tired and has run out of steam long before the end.
And disingenuous because, with Brexit being this firework's blue touchpaper, I wanted to see how he would treat the Brexit bus with the claim that we would be better off leaving the EU to the tune of £350m per week (I have to keep Googling that to confirm it really was per week - it was). Joseph Goebbels said make a lie large enough and in time it becomes the truth. Whilst this lie was big, it was never quite on the level of 'Holocaust, what Holocaust?', so never quite made it through the transom. It now exists in a curious half-lit world where you occasionally hear it as a punchline on The News Quiz, or a bus stop queue grumble. As a nation we really should be fucking furious over the biggest financial mis-selling scandal in history, but we just give it all a very British shrug. Or, like Quentin, don't even think it's worth mentioning.
I have thought long and hard as to whether I decided to dislike this book because I disagreed with its stance before I even opened it. The answer, I think, is no. I came to it with an open mind. It's a string of - occasionally funny - ad hominem attacks, reliant on the non sequitur that experts sometimes get things wrong therefore experts are wrong, therefore please replace any expert opinion with what you would like to hear. No. Sorry. That's just plain bonkers. Education, expertise, knowledge is good and useful and we should listen to those with experience and capability, not as fonts of all wisdom but as fonts of more wisdom than us. Otherwise we may as well save the NHS £350m a week by self-diagnosing and self-treating ourselves, following our own chosen sages, and injecting ourselves with bleach to ward off covid.
Hypocritical, because by the end of the book you realise that he has set himself up as an expert in spotting and taking down the so-called patronising bastards. These are the people who set themselves up as having some form of privileged perspective, that we should listen to them. Like Quentin, on the very subject he's put himself up on a pedestal to lecture us about.
A clown because, as at least a couple of episodes of the excellent podcast 'Rule of Three' has covered, repetition is central to the art of clowning. Repeat something, like tying your shoelaces together or hitting yourself in the face, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over, then repeat a few times more, and it goes beyond irritating and comes out the other side as funny. Except here it just gets more and more tired and has run out of steam long before the end.
And disingenuous because, with Brexit being this firework's blue touchpaper, I wanted to see how he would treat the Brexit bus with the claim that we would be better off leaving the EU to the tune of £350m per week (I have to keep Googling that to confirm it really was per week - it was). Joseph Goebbels said make a lie large enough and in time it becomes the truth. Whilst this lie was big, it was never quite on the level of 'Holocaust, what Holocaust?', so never quite made it through the transom. It now exists in a curious half-lit world where you occasionally hear it as a punchline on The News Quiz, or a bus stop queue grumble. As a nation we really should be fucking furious over the biggest financial mis-selling scandal in history, but we just give it all a very British shrug. Or, like Quentin, don't even think it's worth mentioning.
I have thought long and hard as to whether I decided to dislike this book because I disagreed with its stance before I even opened it. The answer, I think, is no. I came to it with an open mind. It's a string of - occasionally funny - ad hominem attacks, reliant on the non sequitur that experts sometimes get things wrong therefore experts are wrong, therefore please replace any expert opinion with what you would like to hear. No. Sorry. That's just plain bonkers. Education, expertise, knowledge is good and useful and we should listen to those with experience and capability, not as fonts of all wisdom but as fonts of more wisdom than us. Otherwise we may as well save the NHS £350m a week by self-diagnosing and self-treating ourselves, following our own chosen sages, and injecting ourselves with bleach to ward off covid.
January 27, 2025
Parliamentary sketch writers have a very dated style of writing - their 'humour' feels both heavy handed and has a grotesquery more suited to an eighteenth century political cartoon than the modern day. In this book, Quentin Letts (a sketch writer in his day job) does deploy some of this style in his ad hominem remarks about individuals - and I probably disagree with about 90 per cent of his viewpoints (though I'm definitely with him on hymns, the House of Lords and justice being blind).
But - and it's a big but - what I do absolutely agree with is that subtitle - 'how the elites betrayed Britain'. Letts highlights the horror of the Establishment when the people turn against them by, say, voting for Brexit or a certain US president. Without supporting either of these it is easy to see why it is happening. Just this morning I heard on a podcast a well-known political commentator (and self-affirmed member of said elite) saying how Brexit remains incomprehensible to people like him. And that's the problem.
Letts catalogues a whole parcel of ways members of the Establishment feather their own nest without considering the ordinary people. He gives us a tour of public bodies such as the Arts Council, various commissions, the whole EU gravy train, of course the House of Lords, and far more where our liberal elite rewards those who network well and have friends in the right places at the expense of the rest of us. He is pitiless in uncovering the patronising attitude of the liberal elite to ordinary people. The same commentator on the podcast was hoping that the voters would realise how wrong they were in a wonderfully patronising fashion - he called their decisions irrational, without even trying to understand the genuine reasoning that is there.
This combination of patronising distaste and 'we're obviously right because we personally benefit from the approach' is particularly obvious if you live outside of London and the South East (think of the difference between the treatment of the Elizabeth Line and HS2). The result is lashing out the only way the masses can. Leaving the EU, for instance, may well be considered self-destructive in terms of GDP, say, but to paraphrase a northerner Letts quotes, why should he care about GDP when he never sees any of it.
This, then, is the reason I give the book four stars. There are very few commentators from the elite (which Letts certainly is) who really get what's behind the populism and how things really need to change if we are to get away from this situation. It's a difficult book to read when you do feel naturally antagonistic to many of Letts' viewpoints... but if you can put aside that feeling it's very informative.
But - and it's a big but - what I do absolutely agree with is that subtitle - 'how the elites betrayed Britain'. Letts highlights the horror of the Establishment when the people turn against them by, say, voting for Brexit or a certain US president. Without supporting either of these it is easy to see why it is happening. Just this morning I heard on a podcast a well-known political commentator (and self-affirmed member of said elite) saying how Brexit remains incomprehensible to people like him. And that's the problem.
Letts catalogues a whole parcel of ways members of the Establishment feather their own nest without considering the ordinary people. He gives us a tour of public bodies such as the Arts Council, various commissions, the whole EU gravy train, of course the House of Lords, and far more where our liberal elite rewards those who network well and have friends in the right places at the expense of the rest of us. He is pitiless in uncovering the patronising attitude of the liberal elite to ordinary people. The same commentator on the podcast was hoping that the voters would realise how wrong they were in a wonderfully patronising fashion - he called their decisions irrational, without even trying to understand the genuine reasoning that is there.
This combination of patronising distaste and 'we're obviously right because we personally benefit from the approach' is particularly obvious if you live outside of London and the South East (think of the difference between the treatment of the Elizabeth Line and HS2). The result is lashing out the only way the masses can. Leaving the EU, for instance, may well be considered self-destructive in terms of GDP, say, but to paraphrase a northerner Letts quotes, why should he care about GDP when he never sees any of it.
This, then, is the reason I give the book four stars. There are very few commentators from the elite (which Letts certainly is) who really get what's behind the populism and how things really need to change if we are to get away from this situation. It's a difficult book to read when you do feel naturally antagonistic to many of Letts' viewpoints... but if you can put aside that feeling it's very informative.
August 14, 2018
Beyond the laughs - and it is amusing - this book cuts to the essence of what we might call the 'metropolitan elite' and their characteristic avarice, hypocrisy and condescension.
Interestingly it shreds the myth that Letts is a typical partisan right-wing hack. In fact, Patronising Bastards is very fair. He gives praise where it is due across the political spectrum (even to the Greens!), but mostly acerbic and lyrical admonishment in his typical style!
It paints a picture of a early-21st century caste; a new aristocracy of self-serving technocrats and elitists in a range of fields - from politics to business to the art-world, all possessed of a We Know Best attitude, mostly unelected and with a disproportionate amount of power (and often taxpayer money) which makes it, beyond the jokes, a book worthy of wide and serious consideration.
Interestingly it shreds the myth that Letts is a typical partisan right-wing hack. In fact, Patronising Bastards is very fair. He gives praise where it is due across the political spectrum (even to the Greens!), but mostly acerbic and lyrical admonishment in his typical style!
It paints a picture of a early-21st century caste; a new aristocracy of self-serving technocrats and elitists in a range of fields - from politics to business to the art-world, all possessed of a We Know Best attitude, mostly unelected and with a disproportionate amount of power (and often taxpayer money) which makes it, beyond the jokes, a book worthy of wide and serious consideration.
January 24, 2019
I met Letts once, when I played cricket against him. I'm in sympathy with his underlying thesis: that the commanding heights of UK public life - politics, media, culture etc, have been captured by an elite whose liberal/progressive ideology runs conspicuously counter the interests of the mass of ordinary people.
Letts is an excellent parliamentary sketch-writer, who seems to have been troubled by the transition to longer form. Sad to say, his book is just not very well-written. A typical chapter chronicles the misdeeds of a given "patronising bastard" efficiently enough. But then it usually runs in the sand. There are non-sequiturs, and one has the sense of Letts being lost for a punchline, with the frequent resort to unpleasant digs at the marital troubles of his subjects.
Letts is an excellent parliamentary sketch-writer, who seems to have been troubled by the transition to longer form. Sad to say, his book is just not very well-written. A typical chapter chronicles the misdeeds of a given "patronising bastard" efficiently enough. But then it usually runs in the sand. There are non-sequiturs, and one has the sense of Letts being lost for a punchline, with the frequent resort to unpleasant digs at the marital troubles of his subjects.
November 26, 2018
I am trying to read more widely and picked this because I knew it would be firmly "outside my bubble". This is essentially a series of essays on the topic of people and organisations that have annoyed the author at some point. Some of his criticisms were quite well constructed and, at times, amusing although a lot of it came across as bitter, boring or both. I found myself skipping large chunks of it which made it a mercifully quick read.
May 17, 2022
Enjoyed this book a lot (more than I should). Brings out the inner peasant - sneering and sceptical of perfumed words and statements issued by self-serving lords and ladies.
Of course complex legal and political decisions are not so simple, and scepticism may just be due to unsophisticated shallow grasp of issues. But Quentin Letts writes with a pen that also serves as a dagger, and tears open hypocrisy and hubris among the decision makers in our society.
Of course complex legal and political decisions are not so simple, and scepticism may just be due to unsophisticated shallow grasp of issues. But Quentin Letts writes with a pen that also serves as a dagger, and tears open hypocrisy and hubris among the decision makers in our society.
December 14, 2018
Journalist Quentin Letts adopts the scatter gun method in his broadside against the celebrities and the powerful who constantly lecture and legislate on how everyone else must behave. His book is amusing and entertaining, introduced me to some ideologues I had not been aware of, but in the end is a one joke act.
December 15, 2018
Excellent insights into the (Westminster) Swamp
QL manages to describe many people and campaigns which consume huge resources, usually to the disadvantage of the normal citizen (and taxpayer who has no option but to pay for them). He somehow sprinkles the saga with his normal impish observations. Absolutely brilliant!!
QL manages to describe many people and campaigns which consume huge resources, usually to the disadvantage of the normal citizen (and taxpayer who has no option but to pay for them). He somehow sprinkles the saga with his normal impish observations. Absolutely brilliant!!
December 31, 2018
About time too!
A carefully researched volume which is very revealing of the subterfuge and shady dealings of the British establishment. Told with wit and acerbic comment it is an enjoyable read. I can think of a plethora of other names I would like to add to the final list of miscreants.
A carefully researched volume which is very revealing of the subterfuge and shady dealings of the British establishment. Told with wit and acerbic comment it is an enjoyable read. I can think of a plethora of other names I would like to add to the final list of miscreants.
May 14, 2018
Absolutely brilliant...hits the nail on the head.
Would urge anybody who voted `remain' to read this book to gain an insight into why the `peasants revolted' to vote leave in the Brexit referendum.
Some classic Letts laugh out loud lines! Just brilliant!
Would urge anybody who voted `remain' to read this book to gain an insight into why the `peasants revolted' to vote leave in the Brexit referendum.
Some classic Letts laugh out loud lines! Just brilliant!
December 24, 2019
Who's who
Gets to the nitty gritty of how the machine works and how certain people in power can throw a spanner in the works
Anyone seeking a more informed insight could read this book
Gets to the nitty gritty of how the machine works and how certain people in power can throw a spanner in the works
Anyone seeking a more informed insight could read this book
October 15, 2020
Even without writing about identity politics, there is plenty to be angry about. QL sugars the pill as he rages against hypocrites and the protected elites. Like Owen Jones' book, but with more cruelty about people's appearances.
December 28, 2017
Reads like Father Ted's Golden Cleric acceptance speech without the wit.
July 8, 2018
Revealing the rotten core
This is a near perfect exposure ot the rotten heart of society, those people delighted to live off the taxed peple of Britain
This is a near perfect exposure ot the rotten heart of society, those people delighted to live off the taxed peple of Britain
September 26, 2018
I laughed out loud! Dripping with sarcasm and brilliantly written. Behind the humour though, there is much to be serious about.
November 21, 2018
Very entertaining, it made me laugh out loud. Perhaps best not to read in one sitting as the point Letts is making could get tiresome, but if read separately, each chapter is of interest and amusing.
November 24, 2018
It is the bastards really are patronising. There are more than enough examples given here to support this.
What is more it is witty, funny and insightful.
What is more it is witty, funny and insightful.
January 11, 2019
I was a little put off by the title but this book is funny, irreverent and spot on. A must read
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