We need to redefine what ‘working class’ really means | Faiza Shaheen

Working-class Britons include old, young, black, white, minorities and many others. Only by uniting can they be empowered again

What makes a person working-class? Being northern? Working in a factory? Being a plumber? Being white? Voting Brexit? If you watch TV or read a newspaper you will probably think all of the above. Unless you’re actually working-class, that is. From David Dimbleby declaring on the night of the EU referendum result that working-class votes were the decisive factor in the Brexit referendum (wrong) to TV dramas depicting the lazy and criminal, the mythology built about working-class people is wide-ranging and often damaging. This is important, because if we see class as purely about culture, we ignore the role of the economy, the state or community.

New research on low-income Londoners from the Centre for Labour and Social Studies and the Runnymede Trust found that while just over half identified as working class, almost all shared what could be described as a working-class experience. On the negative side, this included feelings of being “dehumanised” by impersonal public services and excluded by gentrification. Social mobility didn’t work for many in a system rigged for privilege. However, there are signs of community-led solidarity.

Related: Britain is run by a self-serving clique. That’s why it’s in crisis | Gary Younge

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