A momentous day, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer made his U-turn over the 45p tax band. The tin-eared Chancellor was grilled by Nick Robinson on Radio 4. Over on Times Radio, Joan Bakewell and Will Self discussed the calamitous U-turn. Self uses words like synecdoche and fissiparous, and that only adds to the enjoyment. Bakewell is brilliant. So how dare Amol Rajan complain about the posh accents of privileged RP-speaking presenters? Mention Rajan’s name among educated over-50s and hear a chorus of disapproval: the glottal-stopping gabbler is a torment to their ears. He recently told an interviewee, ‘You were very fortuitous with the pandemic...’ – meaning fortunate. Yet the fortuitous Cambridge graduate presumes to assume the helm of University Challenge. What listeners and UC contestants need is clarity, audibility, fluency and the right emphases: not more demotic Estuary tones. Rajan is the go-to for any new job. He sometimes...
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