I remember growing up in Tory heartlands and having my Mother spit with fury whenever Neil Kinnock appeared on the tv.  She was totally irrational in her hatred of him and couldn't come back with any reasonable argument to justify it. It was just fact that he was a vile, evil man. No questions.

But my early introductions to 'the left' gave me the impression that they too were over emotive and irrational in defending their causes.  Demonstrations and marches just for the hell of it, to be disruptive, to have an excuse to shout and rant.  Trade unions striking and bins burning. No room for being reasonable. That's all the left were capable of in my Mother's view and it is a perception that the right still use to vilify the left with.

Certainly with trade unions that perception prevails and it is a big factor in declining membership, especially for younger workers. Perhaps with a 'left wing' Government, these perceptions have been eroded somewhat. Now we are in a better position to have our arguments heard and there is less need to rant and shout and wave placards around because we aren't currently in opposition here.  It seems like we can't win either way.  We mobilise and we are too emotive, we argue coherently and we aren't emotive enough.

And the right continue to be two faced.