What about the workers?

A new study on the Working Class by BritainThinks

Introduction About BritainThinks

Putting the people that matter at the heart of your thinking makes for better decisions, more effective communications and stronger, deeper relationships. BritainThinks offers strategic advice rooted in new insight into the people that matter most to you, whether they are stakeholders, consumers, citizens or colleagues.

Introduction “What about the workers” At BritainThinks we believe it is essential to understand the context in which companies, brands and other organisations operate.  

That’s why we do a great deal of our own research to keep abreast of the constantly changing environment.   We have a qualitative panel that we are regularly in touch with and we carry out large projects from time to time to look at some of the big questions of the day.

This March, BritainThinks produced “Speaking Middle English” a survey exploring the views and attitudes of the 71% of Britons who self define as Middle Class. This report considers the views of the 24% who consider themselves to be “Working Class”. It draws on the poll findings, alongside a series of specially convened focus groups, to explore what it means to feel Working Class in today’s Britain. Our findings have resonance, not only for the politicians and policy-makers, but also for brands and companies who seek to better understand this critical group in British society. 

0%

7%

43%

21%

24%

4%

Upper

Upper middle

Middle

Lower middle

Working

Not sure

7-out-of-10 self identify as Middle Class

71% 33.6

Million adults

0%

7%

43%

21%

24%

4%

Upper

Upper middle

Middle

Lower middle

Working

Not sure

And less than 1-in-4 now define as Working Class

11.4 Million adults

The object that symbolised being Middle Class was…

The equivalent for the Working Class is…

“Because working class people are the ones that do the work – you wouldn’t see a Middle Class person by the side of the road fixing pipes”

Who are the Working Class? Products & Brands Leisure time

44%

22%

Middle Class

Working Class

% who eat at restaurant with table service once a month or more

75%

48%

Middle Class

Working Class

% who have taken a foreign holiday in last 3 years

39%

55%

Middle Class

Working Class

% who say Tesco understands people like me

The ‘good old’ days?

17%

8%

Working Class (Under 30)

Working Class (50+)

% saying ‘I’d rather take on debt than cut back on spending’

“When I left school I got apprenticeships in three different firms, I could take my pick”

More opportunities

Different attitudes

“Immigration meant my

wages went from £250 a day down to £110, to now being £70”

“They had family, they had community. I live in

a block of flats, you have no community

around you. Then it was everyone for all.”

The bad old days? Quality of life

Lack of opportunities (especially for women)

“Women just used to stay at home and look after the kids, and do

the cooking”

Work was harder…. -  Longer hours -  More physical -  More shift work / less

flexible working

And more dangerous… -  Risk of death / serious injury

“These days people going abroad on holiday, and not just to local places,

going to Australia, Canada, India, wherever”

In the past, being working class was something to be proud of…

•  There was a ‘golden age’ where: •  Working class people (particularly men) did ‘real jobs’

•  The work was physical and tough, and you ‘earned your keep’

•  Everyone wanted to work

•  Life back then was hard but…

•  Working class people “knew how to have a good time”

•  Tight–knit communities

•  Respect for your neighbours and your elders

73%

55%

Working Class (55+)

Working Class (Under 30)

% who say ‘Children are wrapped in cotton wool these days’

… but now, there is a clear sense that this is fast disappearing “It doesn’t really matter what class you are in – everyone

round here is just poor, really.”

The working class are almost all living hand-to-mouth

32%

56%

Middle Class

Working Class

% who say ‘It would be a big financial problem for me if I had to replace a large item’

61%

33%

Middle Class

Working Class

% who say ‘I have savings which are equal to or greater than one month of my salary’

32%

13%

Middle Class

Working Class

% who say ‘I have enough savings to feel secure about my future’

6%

14%

Middle Class

Working Class

% who have defaulted on a loan/mortgage in the last 2 years

And those closest to the line have almost no aspirations beyond survival

Q. Thinking about your future which two of these are the most important to you?

72%

54%

20%

27%

18%

9%

63%

53%

33%

20%

19%

12%

That I have enough money to make ends meet

That I have a secure home in the future

That I have a good standard of living when I retire

That I have a better standard of living than I do at the moment

That I am not made redundant / able to find work

That I am able to live somewhere where I feel part of the community

Working Class (£14k or under)

Working Class (£14k+)

The closer to the line people are, the more likely they are to feel nervous and lonely

22%

29%

36%

Middle Class

Working Class (earning £14k+)

Working Class (earning less than

£14k)

% who say they feel nervous about their family’s future

Feeling nervous about family future Feeling lonely

22%

36%

42%

Middle Class

Working Class (earning £14k+)

Working Class (earning less than

£14k)

% who say they often feel lonely

Hopes

“I don’t want my kids to have the same life

as me”

Fears are concentrated around crime and the future for the next generation

“Paedophilia – this guy in the news should be

hanged”

“I am worried that our children and grandchildren

won’t be able to afford to get

married and have children”

But working class people often refer to another, ‘lower’, class …

“She’s not working class, because she

doesn’t work”

“That’s: ‘I’m pregnant, I’m getting a house for nothing. I’ve got four kids and

no old man”

… people who don’t work and, more importantly, “don’t want to work”

“She’s lower class – we pay for these

people”

“I’ve worked most of my life – she’s never done a

days’ work in hers”

“That’s not working class, that’s a yob”

“[they] would know more about the benefits system than all of us put together”

They are anxious to differentiate themselves from “the Chav” …

•  “Sponging off the system” •  Rude and anti-social •  Lacking self-respect

… none more so than those who are themselves out of work or reliant on benefits

“I may be out of work, but I want to work, I’m looking hard for work … and that’s

the difference”

Politics

35%

15%

7%

Labour

Conservative

Lib-Dem

How they say they’d vote % saying they’d be likely to turnout (8-10 out of 10 likelihood)

83%

71%

57%

Middle Class

Working Class (earning £14k+)

Working Class (earning less than

£14k)

“ There should be box for none of the above, so they’ve got an idea

of the number of people out there that didn’t want any of

them”

“The politicians are all millionaires – they don’t live in

the real world”

Politics – two key figures

“We’ve now got this benefit generation which started when

Thatcher closed all of the industries. We’re now buying coal

from Australia”

“I really liked him at first – he seemed different”

“They stopped being the party of the working class”

“It was only because of her that people like me got the chance to

own a house”

Television is a key differentiator between the working class and the middle class

24

Q. Which of the following programmes and types of programmes do you watch at least once a week when they are on television?

Working  Class  respondents  were  more  likely  to  watch...  

WC   MC   Dif   Middle  Class  respondent  were  more  likely  to  watch...  

WC   MC   Dif  

X-­‐Factor   44%   29%   15%   Historical  documentaries  (e.g.  Time  team,  etc)  

27%   38%   11%  

Britain’s  Got  Talent   36%   22%   14%   Current  affairs  documentaries  (e.g.  Dispatches)  

32%   40%   8%  

Eastenders   34%   21%   13%   BBC  News  at  6  or  ITV  News  at  6  

41%   48%   7%  

CoronaQon  Street   34%   24%   10%   The  AnQques  Roadshow   20%   25%   5%  

Big  Brother   15%   7%   8%   Strictly  Come  Dancing   23%   27%   4%  

29%

51%

Middle Class

Working Class

% who say ‘I often have conversations with friends about shows like the X Factor or Britain's Got Talent

Wayne Rooney

Jordan

Cheryl Cole

Ashley Cole

Alan Sugar

Dizzee Rascal

Alesha Dixon

Frank Lampard

Kelly Holmes

Twiggy

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

Most Working Class Celebrities

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th Gordon Ramsay

Most Working Class Brands

The Sun

Iceland

McDonald’s

KFC

Asda

The Labour Party

EasyJet

ITV

Alton Towers

Pizza Express

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

Does class matter nowadays?

•  There is broad agreement among the working class and middle class that class matters less

BUT… •  The Middle classes will meet their aspirations more easily •  Being working class used to be a choice

•  You wanted to work with your hands, do an honest day’s work, live in local community, be unpretentious, play football

•  Now being working class tends to just mean being poor •  And life is made harder because the working class is…

•  Brought down by the work-shy ‘underclass’ •  Challenged by immigrants who undercut wages

•  Is education the key? Or is it ‘who you know’ rather than ‘what you know’

What about the workers?

A new study on the Working Classes by BritainThinks

CONTACT DETAILS BritainThinks

This study draws on an online survey of 2003 UK adults. Data were demographically weighted to be representative of the UK adult population. Alongside the survey, BritainThinks conducted ten focus groups to understand the views of each of the different working and middle class segments. For more information about this study, or the the work we do more generally, please do get in touch: BritainThinks Somerset House Strand London WC2R 1LA info@britainthinks.com 020 7845 5880