British politicians have in recent years tended to treat both the idea of a distinct working class and the very words “working class” as rhetorical poison, and have made strenuous efforts to avoid using them. More recently, however, they have found a different way to mention class: by prefixing “working class” with the word “white”. When I was growing up, in the 1980s and 90s in Solihull, no one ever used the term “working class”. Second, through negative propaganda, which sought to isolate the badly off from an upwardly mobile, consumerist working class. In the 80s, it was regarded as shorthand for the politically favoured affluent wing of the working class.

Source: The Guardian September 27, 2016 05:01 UTC