What is "Britishness"? Part 9: Social class

Britain is, and always has been, a class-ridden society. Society continues to be divided on a hierarchical basis, with an individual’s social class being determined by birth, wealth, education and occupation. There is no doubt that this is still the case given that those holding top jobs are five times more likely to be former public-school and Oxbridge graduates than the general population. More often than not, they come from wealthy and privileged backgrounds because selection criteria at these august institutions are stacked in their favour and, when they emerge into the real world, the “old school tie” network takes care of them and provides them with opportunities they are neither qualified for nor deserve. Of course, there are exceptions but examples of state-educated children rising to the top despite the odds are still tragically few and far between, even though their experience and determination to succeed would mean they are better equipped for the challenges of high office than someone who has had everything handed to them on a plate.

The British monarch is usually viewed as being at the top of the social class structure, although these days the role has been reduced to a ceremonial figurehead and wields no actual power. The real political power lies in the echelon below the monarchy – the so-called “ruling class” – a small but super-rich elite, which comprises nobility, other aristocracy, business tycoons and media moguls. Their overriding objective is to ensure that democracy never threatens their position. The class system in Britain serves them by keeping everyone in their place and concentrating wealth and power in the hands of the few. It enables those at the top of the tree to always call the shots. As such, it enshrines inequality, stifles democracy and kills aspiration.

Class distinction. John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett in the classic sketch from the Frost Report. Photo reproduced courtesy of the BBC (1966).

The UK Parliament was originally organised on the basis of social class, with the House of Lords representing the hereditary upper-class and the House of Commons representing everybody else. It was not until as recently as 1958 that the Life Peerages Act permitted the creation of groups of life peers rather than the morally indefensible hereditary peerages and admitted women peers for the first time. This has gradually reduced the dominance of male hereditary peers in the Second Chamber.

The industrial revolution, which took place in the 18th and 19th centuries, may have reduced the importance of birth in determining a person’s social class by increasing access to education but “social climbing” has never been encouraged on any scale by those at the top of the ladder, because of the threat it posed to their own interests. Britain has never experienced the kind of violent political revolution that afflicted most other European states between the 18th and 20th centuries, from the French Revolution in 1789 to the Russian Revolution in 1917. It was, however, a pretty close-run thing as the threat of revolution and pressure for political reform was undoubtedly present around the turn of the 19th century and was only avoided through a combination of political repression and, ultimately, by concessions being made to political reform. This culminated in the Reform Act of 1832. As a result, the British nobility managed to cling on to their titles, status and estates. Since then, the “old” ruling class have largely maintained their wealth by absorbing some successful business people into its ranks (e.g. through marrying into new money), as well as seeing the value of their land and fine art collections increase significantly since the 1980s (N.B. more than a third of land in Britain is still in the hands of aristocrats and traditional landed gentry), and this has enabled them to preserve their strong influence over the country’s politics.

With the gap between rich and poor widening and opportunities extremely limited for those from lower classes to penetrate the upper crust of society, the establishment elite of aristocracy, big business, financiers and politicians who comprise Britain’s ruling class are once again in the ascendancy. The rise of democracy that once threatened their position has been nullified; opposition has been suppressed and once powerful trade unions have been side-lined; most of the media is under their control. The Conservative Party is called the natural party of government because it aligns closely with this group. Whilst Covid-19 has brought ordinary people to their knees, the fortunes of the super-rich have increased dramatically. They are now amassing wealth and seizing more power aggressively, in ways that are unprecedented in modern times. They are protecting their interests by appointing their people to top jobs, such as the Chairman of the Bank of England and the Director General and Chair of the BBC, in order to exert control over public opinion. Their interests are different from the rest of us and their motives are not always transparent but they have a devious way of dressing-up their policies so that they appeal to enough of the electorate. Take Brexit, for example, which was sold to the electorate on the basis of taking back control of our destiny, reducing immigration and releasing cash for the NHS. What is being delivered is falling far short of the panacea that was promised at the outset and, instead, looks set to unleash a whole world of pain on Britain’s people and business community.

Having been restored to power, they seem intent on shoring up their position and removing any means by which they might be held to account. They exude a sense of entitled arrogance that looks down on those who are struggling in our society as if it’s their own fault and sneers at those who want to help as do-gooders and virtue-seekers. We see it in the Government’s dismissive attitude towards Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford’s call to extend free school meals over the school holidays to prevent children from going hungry. We also see it in their shameful attempts to defend the awful death toll we have experienced as a result of Covid-19 and their reluctant support for businesses and their employees that have been hard hit by lockdowns imposed as infection rates have surged once again.

Social class, as a quintessential aspect of British life, is matched only by the general indifference of its population towards radical change. As a result, the social order remains much the same as it has for hundreds of years. For the time being, the ruling class seems unassailable but despite their confidence, the privilege they enjoy is only possible because the majority of the population are willing to go along with things as they are. The age-old tensions still exist but have been kept at bay over the years by those in power making modest concessions that have resulted in living standards steadily increasing for the majority. The question is whether that will continue to be enough in the face of the existential challenges we are facing from Covid-19 and the climate emergency, where the only response is radical action that cuts through vested interests and changes the way we all live in order to protect the planet and each other.