Teaching Comparative

Facts about a social cleavage

If you want some data to demonstrate the existence of the social class cleavage in Britain (which can be a total mystery to American students), the results of this Guardian/ICM poll should do the trick. And note the results that show how the geographic cleavage reinforces the social class differences.

At the end of the article are links to several related articles.

Riven by class and no social mobility - Britain in 2007

"Ten years of Labour rule have failed to create a classless society, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today. It shows that Britain remains a nation dominated by class division, with a huge majority certain that their social standing determines the way they are judged.

"Of those questioned, 89% said they think people are still judged by their class - with almost half saying that it still counts for "a lot". Only 8% think that class does not matter at all in shaping the way people are seen...

"The poll also shows that after 10 years of Labour government, social change in Britain is almost static. Despite the collapse of industrial employment, the working class is an unchanging majority. In 1998, when ICM last asked, 55% of people considered themselves working class. Now the figure stands at 53%.

"Of people born to working class parents, 77% say they are working class too. Only one fifth say they have become middle class.

"Despite huge economic change and the government's efforts to build what it calls an opportunity society, people who think of themselves as middle class are still in a minority. In 1998, 41% of people thought of themselves as middle class, exactly the same proportion as today...

"The poll paints a picture of a nation divided by social attitudes and life-chances, with 47% of those living in south-east England considering themselves middle class, against 39% in the north and 35% in Wales and the west.

"Northern England remains a working-class heartland, with 57% of people describing themselves as part of it..."

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Labels: demographics, political culture, UK

posted by Ken Wedding @ 7:31 AM