News & Press
The white working class; Britain’s forgotten race victims?
22 January 2009
For a good decade, ‘class' was something of a swear word in British politics, almost taboo. The government seldom talked about class, preferring terms such as ‘hardworking families' and ‘social exclusion'. Some commentators argued that this was part of a broader strategy to woo middle-class voters and occupy the political centre, which has come at the cost of alienating core working-class voters.
However, class inequality is making its way back onto the political agenda, because there are legitimate issues and grievances to be discussed and debated. Class is still at the centre of how people see their place in Britain today, and socio-economic background is still a strong predictor of life-chances. Returning to the issue of class inequality is therefore long overdue.
But there is a danger that a debate on class seen through the lens of race could be counterproductive and harmful. Too often, the interests of the white working class are pitched against those of minority ethnic groups and immigrants. Larger social and economic structures are left out. Instead, the white working class are positioned as the losers in the struggle for scarce resources, while minority ethnic groups are the winners. In these terms, the white working class has been left behind by multiculturalism, or indeed because of it.
Anti-racists urgently need to get involved in the current discussion on whiteness. It is important to take the grievances of white members of the working class seriously, but surely this does not mean disregarding the views of ethnic minority members of the working class. The problem is the deeply ingrained hierarchical class structure which remains one of the hallmarks of British social life, not ethnic diversity. This is why Runnymede asked eight prominent thinkers on race, class and inequality to reflect on the state of class in 21st century Britain, and its relationship with race equality.
Please click here to download the report, or click here for the press release.
