Everyone has a “divine” right to think well of themselves. That is one of the central messages of Christianity !

My dig at educationalists is at those who breed defeatism by telling those from poorer backgrounds that they are victims of the system and should have no hope.

But we are a long way from Scottish polls – the only even tenuous link I can find to bring us back on track is that for nearly twenty years Tories in Scotland have been taught to believe that they are hated and should not entertain hope of electoral success. Recovering from a generation of defeatism requires a level of character and self-belief which cannot be learned overnight, so it will perforce take time for the party to rebuild its position. But the first steps have been taken, and I am sure that an important further step will be taken at next GE. Even 3 MPs is distinctly more successful than just 1.

Sure, it’s easier for a young brain to take it in. If the first thing you hear at the age of 11 is that you are part of an elite, then self-belief/confidence will grow much better than if you are told that you are the same as everyone else and have no divine right toi think well of yourself.

There are state schools whose ethos allows kids to grow, whose sense of competition feeds leadership learning. They are few and far between and distort the housing market!

My view is that any-one at any age can learn the very simple techniques that can level the playing field a bit.

“.. communication skills and leadership tools are eminently learnable. I mean, if a twelve year old can learn it…”

I believe the Jesuits used to ask for the child at 7 in order to shape them.

Actually, it’s all about self-belief. Like languages, if it is not taught at a young age, it becomes an increasingly harder skill to acquire in later life.

While parents are inherently important to the process, it is true that if you put a child of whatever background into a good public school early enough, it will be difficult to tell them apart at 18.

The sad reality is that most (but not all) state secondary schools do not even try to address these skills, while certain educational philosophies prevalent among state primary schools positively discourage it – because it does require pitting children against each other to find those innate skills.

And, with the best will in the world, not everybody is cut out to be a leader – just as not everyone has a flair for art or music or science.

Perhaps Alec could familiarise himself with the questions so that he can oblige the Telegraph by identifying where he thinks he should belong.

Tories 39 per cent, Labour on 29 and the Lib Dems on 19.

it is spun as a great poll for Conservatives, showing better support in marginals, but national lead is down 4% on last You Gov survey.