Dear Rosa,
The poem you are thinking of is "Mr. Strugnell" and is from Cope's "Making Cocoa for Kinglsey Amis."
Cope uses Strugnell for all sorts of parodies of all kinds of styles--he isn't a character so much as a means--, but in that particular poem, he is clearly modelled on Larkin. (It is a parody of Mr. Bleany, but there are numerous other give-aways: jazz, '63, and of course Hull.) Betjeman was a big influence on Larkin, and will always be important for that if nothing else--it is just another nod to Larkin, not a dismissal of Betjeman. It is a delightful wicked parody. She also does brilliant send-ups of Shakespeare and Wordsworth in the Strugnell sonnets, but that certainly doesn't mean she finds them inferior poets!
The poets she--or perhaps rather, the superior Mr. Strugnell?--is taking a swipe at (via the dramatic irony of the monologue from Mrs. M.) are not the likes of Betjeman, but Patience Strong and Pam Ayres, who, I take it, are "Deep Thoughts" Hallmark type "poets."
I hope the Betjeman fans don't mind if I post the poem here (if only to clear Cope's name of Betjeman bashing... )
Mr. Strugnell
'This was Mr. Strugnell's room,' she'll say,
And look down at the lumpy, single bed.
'He stayed here up until he went away
And kept his bicycle out in that shed.
'He had a job at Norwood library--
He was a quiet sort who liked to read--
Dick Francis mostly, and some poetry--
He liked John Betjeman very much indeed
'But not Pam Ayres or even Patience Strong--
He'd change the subject if I mentioned them,
Or say "It's time for me to run along--
Your taste's too highbrow for me, Mrs. M."
'And up he'd go and listen to that jazz.
I don't mind telling you it was a bore--
Few things in this house have been tiresome as
The sound of his foot tapping on the floor.
'He didn't seem the sort for being free
With girls or going out and having fun.
He had a funny turn in 'sixty-three
And ran round shouting "Yippee! It's begun."
'I don't know what he meant but after that
He had a different look, much more relaxed.
Some nights he'd come in late, too tired to chat,
As if he had been somewhat overtaxed.
'And now he's gone. He said he found Tulse Hill
Too stimulating--wanted somewhere dull.
At last he's found a place that fits the bill--
Enjoying perfect boredom up in Hull.'
'
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Threaded Mode
