What happens when good words turn bad? 'Respect' was a big theme in the Queen's speech this afternoon. ER's government is 'committed to fostering a culture' of the stuff. Fostering in this context appears at first glance to mean banning things and keeping a beady administrative eye on everybody. It might work. The blog, which is no expert in these matters, will have more valuable insights after tomorrow's Observer politics news conference.
Meanwhile we can't help but be struck by the meteoric rise of the 'R' word in its modern sense of 'ultimate virtue in interpersonal relations'. Didn't it used to just mean courtesy, with a bit of deference. This is a real rags-to-riches tale, having started off in the late Eighties as a street greeting, been appropriated by Middle Class school children, then been co-opted by a fringe political party, now it has been brought into government. Respect!
