Illustration by John Sadler www.johnsadlerillustration.com

• AS an aged product of the private school system, I feel a horrible familiarity with the line being taken by our new Labour government.

We had a sadistic headmaster who loved to reach for the cane and, with a hideous grin, he would say: “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you!”

As a prediction it was lousy. It always hurt me a lot, and left him smugly satisfied.

Since then we’ve had plenty of politicians espousing that ideology. “I’m going to do something unspeakably cruel to you, but it’s for your own good!”

The ghastly George Osborne’s thin smile resembled my old headmaster’s when as chancellor he shredded our public services and brought misery to millions.

The upside was that the billionaires who have eaten all the pies did stay put in our happy land.

But for us, the “for your own good” bit never really materialised, did it?

The question is, can Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves do it as convincingly as George? Will we really get fooled again? I hope not.

KW HOWARTH, NW5