New Labor triumphed over old elitism and in my MP, a new sailor was born.

This story doesn't end at the bottom of the Long Island ice teas we downed to calm our nerves after the race. The battle was won, but the war against traditional privilege isn't over in Britain--not for me, not for Tony Blair and not for New Labor. This war permeates all aspects of British life. Laura Spence, who will be attending Harvard next year, became the latest class-warrior after protesting her rejection from Oxford, contending that students from state-sponsored schools are disadvantaged in the admissions process. New Labour took up her standard but was bitterly opposed by the Tory front benchers.

In America we don't have the same level of class-consciousness that is omnipresent in Britain. Here they can tell how much money you make by your accent, and those who rise from lower-class backgrounds studiously hide the trappings of success. That is changing slowly as the economic boom lifts all ships--even the fragile cockles--but it is a far cry from the culture of success we cultivate in the United States.

But in other ways the class-consciousness is helpful--it drives things like universal health care, a generous pension scheme and high levels of funding for public education. The have-nots are a cohesive force here, one that has pushed Labor into power and now demands their fair share of the economic rewards. The tally of jobs created is noted everyday, and unemployment is a constant concern, not a quarterly statistic. And unlike America, the poorest are the focus of the majority of the political energy.

The culture of privilege is slowly fading into the distance as the boats of New Labor take off with the wind at their back. Our small victory was merely a symbol of a sea change occurring all around me.

Meredith B. Osborn '02, a Crimson executive, is a social studies concentrator in Leverett House.