Playground politics

That's why it is disturbing that Lord Mandelson, Labour's campaign chief and champion spin doctor, should veer towards personal abuse by expressing the view that the Conservative leader David Cameron looked down "his rather long toffee nose" at England's regions.

His remark, of course, harks back to Gordon Brown's ill-chosen Commons jibe that Tory policies prioritising tax breaks for the rich had been developed "on the playing fields of Eton", Mr Cameron's alma mater.

Such behaviour underlines the ill-disguised frustration among Labour's high command that they cannot use Mr Cameron's exceptionally privileged background against him because of the fear of triggering a public backlash – a frustration no doubt compounded by the knowledge the Tories are privately concerned that the elite background of their leadership remains a serious weakness among some ordinary Britons.

Labour's own pool of MPs, peers and donors includes many people from affluent backgrounds, as well as those who might be seen as privileged. It cannot credibly complain about the social ties of its opponents and many voters would prefer that it did not.

Everyone standing at the election – as well as peers who can avoid appearing on the ballot paper – should remember the British people have been disgracefully served by their politicians in recent years. The country deserves a higher level of public debate than one which descends into schoolboy insults.

The decision the country makes on May 6 is too important to have the election campaign trivialised. The public may decide that politicians who resort to abuse are not fit to hold office.