It’s the battle of the generations. Veteran Guardian journalist Michael White started verbal fisticuffs with The Independent’s wunderkind of the Left, Owen Jones, on Twitter last night. Jones had suggested that the country should “cut MPs’ pay, currently in top five per cent by income. If that deters some — good. It will mean more MPs who believe in doing a service”.
“That’s a naïve remedy, Owen, even by your youthful, indignant standards,” tweeted White, who once ended up in a fistfight with Alastair Campbell after making a crude joke about the death of Robert Maxwell.
“I respect you, Michael, but when people patronise they have lost the argument, and you are no exception,” Jones shot back. “Alas,” said White with the wisdom of his 67 years, “many young people do not realise how crassly condescending their remedies can sound to those who have heard it all before.” “A shame,” the 28-year-old Jones replied, “you haven’t grown out of the slightly juvenile ad hominem approach to political debate.”
