From the pit to the palace – social class in Britain

It is often said that class is the great divide in British society, but what does social class mean in 2024? Is it a set of escalators where we can easily move up and down? Or more like an open prison, where only occasionally do a few manage to escape? If you are born working class do you remain that way, regardless of how your life changes? And to what degree does the class your born into define or limit your opportunities in life, and the discrimination or favour you might encounter?

Joining host Andy Wilson to pick apart the role of class in modern society will be:

Dan Evans is a lecturer in sociology at Swansea University who specialises in social class. He has written for The Guardian, New Statesman, Open Democracy, Jacobin and more. He is the author of the book ‘A Nation of Shopkeepers: The Unstoppable Rise of the Petty Bourgeoisie’.

Lizzi Collinge MP is the Labour Member of Parliament for Morecambe and Lunesdale. Elected to Parliament in July 2024, Lizzi previously served as a councillor on Lancashire County Council where she specialised in health and social care. She is keen to see the new Parliament get serious about evidence-based policy and her national work brings in issues relevant both to skepticism and her Humanist beliefs. Lizzi’s national policy interests include housing, health and social care, maternity and infant safety.

Tracy Shildrick is Professor of Inequalities at Newcastle University. She has researched and written widely on issues relating to young people, inequality and social class. She has undertaken research in the North East of England, in Teesside, and in Glasgow. Her book Poverty and Insecurity: Life in low pay, no pay Britain (2012) won the British Academy, Policy Press Peter Townsend prize in 2013, and was followed in 2017 by Poverty Propaganda: Exploring the myths. Across all of her research and writing there is a focus on challenging popular and political rhetoric about the causes and the consequences of poverty and inequality in the UK.

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