Once upon a time, wise grannies and nannies rebuked childish intolerance with, “It takes all sorts to make a world”. They might whisk the impressionable child away from a bad influence but firmly close the subject down. “Not everyone thinks the same, dear. Dull world if they did. Now wipe your nose and stop staring.”

Bring back gruff tolerance and the non-judgmental shrug! In a society which prates about “diversity” and has hate-speech laws about religion, race and sexuality, we compensate by resenting small differences. Toxic politics and competitive exhibitionism are magnified by

social media and public discourse is nastier by the day.

Take Harriet Harman: mother of the House of Commons and once a potential Labour leader. She couldn’t make a reasonable case for