Social Class in the United Kingdom

The class divide in Victorian Britain

The Victorian era was dictated by Queen Victoria's reign, beginning in 1837 and ending in 1901. During this time, the Industrial Revolution and the British Empire made Britain a world trailblazer but also served to entrench inequality at home.

The class divide in Europe

Many European countries were much further along in challenging the elite during the nineteenth century than Victorian Britain. The French Revolution of 1789, depicted below, demonstrated the possibility of taking rights and developing democracy through force.

Fig. 1 - 1830 painting by Eugene Delacroix titled ‘La liberté guidant le peuple’

In 1848, there were widespread revolutions against the monarchy in Austria, Germany, France, and Italy. Whilst these were not all successful, they demonstrated that the voice of the ordinary people was, in many cases, united against the existing class system.

The class divide in Britain (1912)

In 1912, just before the First World War began, the British Empire was the dominant world power. 25% of the globe was under its rule and the Industrial Revolution coupled with the wealth from the countries Britain had colonised gave the country immense economic power. However, there were still huge inequalities at home. Britain was male-dominated and made up of an 80% working-class population.

The social and political inequalities became clearer and made their way to the forefront of public consciousness. This was in part due to the support of ordinary workers from trade unions and German political philosopher Karl Marx’s influence.

Fig. 2 - Karl Marx

In his 1848 Communist Manifesto, Marx said:

Trade unions were particularly active in the coal mining industry. Coal mining was a profitable business for Britain and for a time, its most valuable export.

Therefore, the Coal Miner's Strike of 1912 is a fantastic example of the growing voices against inequality in the British class system and the growing power of the ordinary worker against the lawmakers and the elite.

How was the middle class established?

As we have already mentioned, in 1912 the British working-class population was around 80%. The transformation of British social class divisions from then to now is largely due to the emergence of a middle class. There were many events in the twentieth century that contributed to the changing face of the class system in the UK. What were those events?

There are two key themes that ran through this century:

• The growth of marginalised voices such as British colonists, miners, and women.

• The rapid increase of the service industry replaced the emphasis on manufacturing in Victorian times.

During the Victorian period, only the elite could control their destiny. However, significant events such as decolonisation, the Miner's Strikes, and the advancement of women's rights disrupted this status quo during the twentieth century. The empowerment of marginalised voices led to greater confidence and belief within the working classes to advance their situation.

Also, thanks to deindustrialisation and the rise of the customer-orientated service industry to boost the economy, there simply weren't enough jobs for traditional manufacturing workers. They had to diversify sectors and consequently earned better wages. As we will see below, this established a far larger middle-class group.

Social class in the UK: statistics

Today, many of the Victorian concerns about the British class system remain the same but now the lower classes and marginalised sections of society have a far louder voice. Crucially though, the landscape of social class has completely changed. We are now advised to split the class system into seven different categories. How does this work?

Well, we usually define class by factors such as job, wealth, and education but a BBC Lab Study in 2011 known as The Great British Class Survey² looked at economic, social, and cultural factors and only 39% of the population fitted into traditional ‘upper’, ‘middle’, and ‘lower’ categories. 161,000 people took part and it is the biggest study of its kind to date.

Whilst these figures may be slightly skewed because more elites took part in the survey and the precariats may not have had internet access, they clearly demonstrate a more complex class landscape.

We can see that the established middle class is the largest category, completing the transformation from 1912 when 80% of the population was working class. The traditional working class has begun to disperse as their children fit into new categories.

This suggests that class is also generational. The opportunities for social mobility (changing social group) are now greater with chances to gain economic capital quickly, through social media influencing or sports such as football. Increased travel has also led to increased social and cultural awareness from almost all groups.

Fig. 3 - Former England footballer Wayne Rooney grew up in a lower class and is now a millionaire.