Received a reply from the Labour guy:

John,

Thanks for the email. I visited your site. I mean this in a respectful way
when I say I think you'd get on well with my dad who shares your view of the
world.

Tax is a tricky, dangerous thing for a reforming Labour Party. Like it or
not, there are still huge sections of British society who think that we
squander their hard earned resources. More than that though, what Peter Hain
was advocating just doesn't add up. Even Megnad Desai, economics guru to
Tribune denounced his idea as unworkable.

Anyway, thanks for the kind email.

Tom

Nice. I refrained in my reply - much against my better nature, I might add - to query the whereabouts of this reforming Labour Party of which he speaks.

I especially like the "I mean this in a respectful way" bit. Serves me right, I suppose, for calling this the middleagedcurmudgeon, but I'm not much older than he is, f**** sake.