These would mobilise direct action by the oppressed masses against their capitalist oppressors. They would be staffed by those with axes to grind against society's perceived injustices. And the trained community organisers would help them set their agendas.

For Alinsky, the organiser was of supreme importance as the master manipulator. His role was to "first rub raw the resentments of the people; fan the latent hostilities to the point of overt expression". The organiser needed to "agitate to the point of conflict" and "to manoeuvre and bait the establishment so that it will publicly attack him as a ‘dangerous enemy'". The word "enemy" would be sufficient to put the organiser on the people's side, by convincing them that his commitment to them was opening himself up to condemnation and derision.

Using local people thus was also crucial for concealing the strategy's true character by giving these "people's organisations" credibility. It was modelled upon the old Communist Party trick of creating apparently mainstream front organisations that were actually puppets of the party.

In similar vein, Alinsky condemned the New Left for alienating the general public, saying that the revolution had to be carried out stealthily by cultivating an image of pragmatism in order not to frighten the horses. 

The strategy has worked so well that an Alinskyite radical now sits in the White House. When Obama was elected, Alinsky's son David wrote to the Boston Globe, crowing about this apotheosis of his father's influence. 

He wrote of Obama's campaign: "All the elements were present: the individual stories told by real people of their situation and hardships, the packed-to-the rafters crowd, the crowd's chanting of key phrases and names, the action on the spot of texting and phoning to show instant support and commitment to jump into the political battle, the rallying selections of music, the setting of the agenda by the power people.

"Obama's training...by the great community organisers is showing its effectiveness. It is an amazingly powerful format, and the method of my late father always works to get the message out and get the supporters on board. When executed meticulously and thoughtfully, it is a powerful strategy for initiating change and making it really happen."

But the British Tories don't even understand what they have so witlessly endorsed.