Classism in Westminster: A middle class in control?
British politics and the political system is one in which class has been seen to have played an imperative role, historically up and up to the present day. Class has been key historically as although it is seen as a product of Karl Marx, ‘the concept of social class was not a creation of Marxism. In ancient Greece, for example, Aristotle divides society into slaves and free men.’ furthermore more recently, ‘in his politics he divides citizens into the poor, the middle class, and the rich.’ (Dos Santos, 1970, p.166) This is reflected today in British politics as it can be argued it overall plays a bigger role than race, gender, and age within those with political power. Class and its importance can be shown in various ways, through the domination of the upper middle class within the Conservative Party and the classism faced by many working-class Labour Members of Parliament such as Angela Rayner. But why is class within Westminster still so important? what has led to class remaining one of the key features within British Politics?
The Conservative Party and its leaders have been dominated by those in the upper middle classes. This can be summed up with the statistic that, ‘20 of Britain’s 55 prime ministers educated there (Eton school), including the first, Robert Walpole, and the latest, Boris Johnson.’ (Self, 2021, BBC Culture) Eton school is a top British private school which costs tens of thousands of pounds to attend, already showing a disparity at the top of British politics. The fact that one private school has educated so many Prime Ministers, just shows how deep-rooted class is and how important its role is in order to be successful within Westminster and the Conservatives. This is further demonstrated as, recently in 2019, ‘Nearly two-thirds of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s cabinet were privately educated, according to research.’ (Walker, 2019, The Guardian) This again emphasises that class and education are imperative to be a successful Conservative MP.
Looking more deeply at statistics; ‘of the 33 ministers who make up Johnson’s new cabinet, 45% went to either Oxford or Cambridge University, while a further 24% attended Russell Group universities. Of all MPs in the House of Commons, 24% attended Oxford or Cambridge.’ (Walker, 2019, The Guardian) These figures further show that education and class are interlinked and more so in the Conservatives, class is seemingly a defining factor in the success of their politicians. Class in the Conservatives therefore can be summed up by, ‘the Parliamentary Conservative Party (PCP) has been dominated by men drawn through backgrounds of social privilege, typically old boys of the most exclusive private schools in occupations associated with four main elements: the land, the military, business and the professions.’ (Baker & Fountain, 1996, p.86) As a result, this reflects their core base in voters and their overall key values when it comes to class, reflected in their economic and social policies.
Source: Barro-Lee, 1979–2015; Ford et al., 2019 and previous editions; Sutton Trust, 2005; 2010; 2015; 2019
Another example of class being an imperative player when it comes to party politics can be seen in the classism that many working-class MPs have faced. Examples of this include the classism Shadow Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has been a victim of. Rayner is from a working-class northern background, making her an easy target of classism as well as sexism. This has been shown through the misogyny directed to her, rooted in classism. A significant example of this was when an anonymous Conservative MP quoted in the Mail on Sunday that the Labour MP was “crossing and uncrossing her legs” to affect Boris Johnson in Prime Minister’s Questions. This view is further emphasised as, ‘Charlotte Proudman, a feminist barrister, suggested some Conservatives perceived the Labour deputy leader as not being of the “same standard” as Eton-educated politicians due to the fact she went to state school.’ (Oppenheim, 2022, The Independent.’) Due to the structural historical and continuous domination of the middle classes, classism can be argued to be embedded in the Westminster culture and has become an institutional problem, needing to be addressed.
Overall, the middle classes seem to have the upper hand in Westminster, as most Prime ministers are privately educated. This has created a culture in which classism has become the norm and those from working-class backgrounds find it harder to gain footing in politics, especially seen within the Conservative Party due to the domination of privately educated MPs in the party historically to present-day. This can be seen as, ‘back in 1979, around half of all MPs from the main three parties had been to private school.’ (Williams, 2017, 4 news) With this precedence already set, it has been embedded within the culture, making social mobility within the governing party difficult. However, as of 2023 the shadow cabinet, ‘13% of its 31 members attended independent schools,’ (No author, 2023, The Economist) which could create a cultural impact if a change of government occurred.
Bibliography
Baker, D., Fountain, I. (1996). Eton Gent or Essex Man? The Conservative Parliamentary Elite. In: Ludlam, S., Smith, M.J. (eds) Contemporary British Conservatism. Palgrave, London.
Dos Santos, T. (1970). The Concept of Social Classes. Science & Society, 34(2), 166–193.
No Author. (2023). ‘Labour’s cabinet would be Britain’s most state-educated since 1945.’ The Economist. Accessed at: https://www.economist.com/britain/2023/07/06/labours-cabinet-would-be-britains-most-state-educated-since-1945
Oppenheim, M. (2022). ‘Sexist Tory Attacks on Angela Rayner ‘stink of classism.’ Accessed at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/angela-rayner-mail-article-tory-classism-b2065819.html
Self, J. (2021). ‘The school that rules Britain.’ Accessed at: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210413-the-school-that-rules-britain
Walker, A. (2019). ‘Two-thirds of Boris Johnson’s cabinet went to private schools.’ Accessed at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jul/25/two-thirds-of-boris-johnsons-cabinet-went-to-private-schools
Williams, M. (2017). ‘FactCheck Q&A: how posh is Parliament?’ Accessed at: https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-qa-how-posh-is-parliament
This is a great blog which succinctly describes the class cleavages within the UK and how this pans out in politics. The section about Angela Rayner and the view of Tory MPs was really interesting and, of course, rather frightening. It makes a great case that there still remains structural classism within British politics. To improve, I would’ve recommended you mention elements of the Labour Party, such as Blair’s third-way politics and appeasement to the middle class – and what this meant to the (at least before Blair) Labour working-class demographic. It may also have been helpful to explain some elements of the Eton system – such as various examples of racism and misogyny (see The Independent). Overall, really good argument. Interesting read.
The author mentions the history of class within politics and that working class politicians such as Angela Rayner face classism and questions why class is still so relevant. The author highlights the role of Eton, and that the vast majority of Conservative cabinet members were educated in Eton, highlighting the intersection of class and political affiliations. The author provides interesting statistics regarding the education of MPs and emphasizes the huge role of the middle class within politics. Overall, a really interesting article.