Posting a picture on Twitter of a two-story house, displaying three English flags of St. George and a white tradesman's van outside, might seem innocuous to a foreign eye.

When a British politician appeared to sneer at the modest Rochester home of a 'white van' voter, she was vilified as a member of an arrogant London elite.

In a country where disaffected voters increasingly view politicians as snobbish, patronizing and out of touch, the picture was laden with social cliches.