Geoff Norcott comes out on the comedy blog Beyond the Joke:

Apparently one of the reasons you can’t be a Tory stand-up is good comedy involves “kicking up”. I don’t like this metaphor. In reality, kicking upwards demands flexibility and strength. In stand-up, it’s the less demanding route. If you want an applause break just mutter “Cameron, bankers, Starbucks,” followed by a daring swear word and the crowd will be whooping like Jeremy Hardy at a Communist rally. I’m not sure comics “kick up” as often as they think. Some of my favourite left-wing comics seem to have no trouble lampooning various working class sub-sets for comic effect on Radio 4.  I’d say an urban teenage boy is fairly powerless.