IN CASTING the first stone of what he hopes will be a class war, Gordon Brown plays the man and not the ball.

His linking of class with wealth and privilege among his opponents is a rum way to appeal to the broad electorate of this country.

It is true, and should come as no surprise, that wealth often attends class.

To infer that the one cannot exist without the other is a fallacy the prejudiced and jealous often fall for.

Our political class and their ever growing army of “hangers on” have, over the past 12 years, proved very capable in the personal accumulation of large amounts of other people’s money as they rumble along in the first class seats of the Gravy Train.

If this represents the “classless society” our Government claim to have achieved, maybe we would all benefit from a little of that “class” that is so obviously lacking at present.

The behaviour of many of our politicians, of all political persuasions, has been so scandalous that they have forfeited the right to sit in judgement on anybody, least of all themselves.

One of the failed Scottish banks has the motto “gang warily”.

Mr Brown would be well advised to pay more heed to this than did his failed, but wealthy, banking chums.

If Mr Brown wishes to continue this pointless and prejudiced war, I suggest he takes a closer look a little nearer home before sounding off about others.

JA Whitmore, Springfield Road.

York.