Class war: the ciabatta csar

He's not exactly promising free sun-dried tomatoes on the NHS but Gordon Brown's weekend appeal to the middle classes was pretty brazen.

So there were lots of references to "New Labour" (which is 15 years old now) and talk of aspiration, one of those words that politicians use but voters don't.

"And this is the next project for New Labour, our next generation project," he told his audience. "The coming decade will provide the UK with more middle class jobs than ever before."

But what is a middle-class job? Is the £60-an-hour plumber middle class? The £100,000-a-week footballer with no GCSEs middle class? Neither is part of what New Labour would call the knowledge economy.

Suspicions that Labour has until now been running a core vote strategy mean the Prime Minister is having to bend over backwards in the least subtle of ways to appeal to the middle classes.

Perhaps the middle classes feel neglected by the special policies targeted at the more vulnerable. Perhaps Mr Brown should offer a Commissioner for Middle Class People who could deliver fundamental middle class rights such as parking spaces at Waitrose, a freshly-baked ciabatta guarantee and lattes for all. Stand by for the ciabatta csar.