In British politics, it is usually Labor politicians who wield class-struggle stereotypes to polemically score points against the supposedly elitist Conservatives.
Now the governing party is turning the tables.
When the two deputies of the prime minister and the opposition leader faced each other in parliament these days, the conservative minister Dominic Raab tried to embarrass the Labor politician Angela Rayner, who likes to reveal her working-class origins, with the accusation of champagne socialism.
Rayner had recently been spotted champagne glass in hand at the Glyndebourne Opera Festival, which, with its picnic tradition in tuxedos, is often portrayed as the epitome of snobbish exclusivity, the Sun newspaper reported, alleging hypocrisy.
Where was she then when her comrades in the shadow cabinet showed solidarity with the railroad workers on the strike line instead of standing up for the affected public, Raab teased with a wink, which earned him at least as much harsh criticism as the answer to his rhetorical Question: Rayner sipped champagne at the opera, Raab explained smugly, without realizing the trap he had fallen into.
The bubbly politician advised him to ditch his snobbery and brush up on his operatic skills, as she had attended a performance of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, in which a humble working-class woman prevailed over a privileged but dimwitted man villains win.
She was also the guest of a working boy for £62
who has played the violin at Glyndebourne for 36 years.
The round went to her.
Now comes the news that Angela Rayner is refusing to have her grammatical errors corrected in the minutes of parliamentary sessions so as not to betray her working-class roots, as if linguistic standards and authenticity are incompatible.
In a lecture, she boasted that she avoided politicians' talk and spoke naturally in the chamber, even if that meant that the drafters of the minutes had a nightmare about adapting their parliamentary interventions to house style.
This sets her apart from many working-class colleagues who believe they have to speak a certain way or hide their origins in order to get ahead.
A survey recently showed that most Britons no longer measure class status according to social background, but primarily according to salary.