Labour's Tory-baiting 'toff' exposed ... as a toff

Alex Norris, 23, one of two Labour supporters who posed in "toff" gear, went to Manchester Grammar, a £9,000-a-year private school that has some of the best academic results in the country.

He has been the public face of a Labour drive to portray Tory candidate Edward Timpson, 34, as privileged because of his wealth and his education at Uppingham public school in Rutland.

However, Mr Norris's own private school – founded in 1515 – is older than Uppingham (1584) and ranks substantially higher in academic league tables. Former pupils include actor Sir Ben Kingsley, author Thomas de Quincey and cricketer Mike Atherton.

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Mr Timpson is fighting the by-election following the death of veteran Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody – and the party's candidate is her daughter Tamsin.

Mr Norris, an agent for Nottingham Labour Party, blushed when asked about his educational background.

"Er, why are you interested in me? I'm not the story," he said, as he emerged from the office of local MP Vernon Coaker.

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"I had a free place at Manchester Grammar. My family's not rich and I'm not posh at all. I'm not the story, you should speak to the press office."

Mr Norris, whose entry on the Friends Reunited website described him as "becoming more and more socialist – sorry mum", refused to comment further.

The website entry, which showed his schooling, disappeared shortly after the exchange.

He was photographed posing in the "toff" gear beside a billboard for Mr Timpson in Crewe.

Eric Pickles, the Tories' by-election campaign manager, said Labour's anti-toff campaign was hypocritical.

"Labour candidate Tamsin Dunwoody attacked our candidate for having a farmhouse, but she has an even bigger farmhouse in Wales," he said.

"Last week, Ed Balls, who attended a private school, arrived in Crewe in a Jaguar.

"Now it turns out the Labour activist who dressed up in a top hat for this ridiculous demo went to an independent school himself.

"We have run a positive campaign that addresses the genuine concerns of local people. Labour's campaign has been childish and out of touch."

Martin Stephen, Mr Norris's headmaster at Manchester Grammar, said last night that elitism should be regarded as a positive aspiration rather than a political stigma.

"In my opinion everybody should be a toff, because everyone in the country should have the benefit of a decent education," said Mr Stephen, who is now head of independent St Paul's School in London – the alma mater of Shadow Chancellor George Osborne.

During his time in Manchester, Mr Stephen built up a £10million bursary fund to subsidise fees for pupils from low-income families.

The "toffs" campaign has opened sharp divisions in the Labour Party, with some strategists arguing that a class-based approach is ineffective and outdated. Others say the tactic is still a vote-winner.