Across the political board, parties’ memberships remain hugely unrepresentative. We can and must do more to simply reach out to those who we perhaps forget all too easily.
Political turmoils, such as Brexit and the continuing Scottish Independence debate, have not only exposed deep socioeconomic fractures in our society – it has also created some new ones. Identity politics is unfortunately here to stay and with that then comes the strengthening of class politics. It is important to recognise how many people are now priding themselves once again on being labelled working class, in some way, shape or form.
There is rightly so plenty of talk about inclusion within our own party, particularly during the times of the Black Lives Matter movement and recent reviews, which touch on many of these issues, but it seems all too often working-class people or people generally from low-socioeconomic backgrounds are left behind in these reflections.
For me, as a young boy raised in a concrete tower block in a notoriously rough area of Glasgow, I was proudly raised by my single-parent mother in a low-income household, I decided not to go to university and worked several low paid jobs. My family’s history, my own economic uncertainty and social circumstances certainly earned me the label of working-class. It also meant at that time my inherited political party was likely to be Labour, the party that many seemed to accept around me with no questions asked at that time.
Now, I am a dedicated Liberal Democrat member and have been for some time, and I am now comfortable to say I feel at home. But there are times where I somehow feel quite disconnected and alone due to the class that I am inherently tied too.
As a party, we appear to be making some moves which many feel are long overdue; ideas and policies like a Universal Basic Income and our plan for carers could further cement our somewhat centre-left credentials.
Ideas and policies only go far enough, we need to be bold and committed to campaign and get close to those areas which are usually off bound. Of course, it always makes sense to target key seats, however, we are missing out in trying to reach out to people who would benefit the most from Liberal Democrat policies in action. If we are serious about listening exercises, then it should start from the bottom up.
I found the Liberal Democrats; the Liberal Democrats did not find me.
There are plenty more people like me who share my background and my postcode. I want to see people from that background, or similar, recognised as an under-represented group in this party. Simply sitting back and waiting for more working-class people, more women and more of those from ethnic minorities or the LGBT+ community to join of their own accord is just not going to cut it.
More than anything else, though, we need to try harder to dispel the myth – and I believe it is a myth – that party membership is only for those from a certain academic background, those who already know people in the party, or perhaps those determined to make a career in politics; for now, these are things that middle-class white men seem much more likely to go with.
That must change.
* Joe McCauley is standing in Glasgow Cathcart for the Scottish Parliament elections 2021
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20 Comments
Thank you Joe for your excellent article, a well-needed reminder to the party that focus should be on the question of economic power, as technological advancement tends to shift it away from less advantaged parts of society towards those already most advantaged.
I believe the point about minorities from a UK perspective being badly treated/ discriminated in the past usually stems from questions of economic power. I’m a ‘white, middle class’ male with a ‘certain academic background’, but would question those who imply being from minority backgrounds, irrespective of coming from well-to-do/ privileged backgrounds (see some previous recent articles) are equally excluded or discriminated by those in economic power as from what I see, those from backgrounds of economic disadvantage, whatever their ethnic background, still face much greater discrimination.
Whilst this may be obvious to some, you’re right to note the party tends to focus on “…those from a certain academic background, those who already know people in the party, or perhaps those determined to make a career in politics; for now, …”, though in metropolitan areas think this applies to anyone middle-class.
There’s of course the need to target, and the question on use of data brokering services which are heavily used by the Conservatives and Labour, but this party’s target groups are smaller pools that can never be fully won over anyway?
But is it also because it’s easier to relate to someone who shares the same economic background e.g also shops at their local Waitrose but not challenge oneself to relate to people at the nearby council estate?
I’m not sure why the writer should feel inherently tied to a particular class, whatever life was like as a child, though I would agree that the obstacles to change can be quite daunting.
My childhood was considerably more poverty stricken and disadvantaged but I have a completely different outlook. I realised at an early age that I had to become self suffient through neccessity. I didn’t think or care about class and I prefer common sense politics to ideological ambitions. I try to treat people from all walks of life with the same level of respect and expect them to do the same with me. It seems to work most of the time.
joe There are plenty of blue collar Liberal Democrats in the party who dont make a big issue of it . We want to see UBI as base level of state support so that no citizen falls below the safety net . That still sees children going hungry in term time in our state schools and that the foodbank by charitable donation has become the work house for the “deserving poor” . never was I prouder than when Liberal Democrats introduced the pupil premium but the Tories claim the credit and underfund the programme , I am increasingly becoming disturbed at the treatment of those with learning and physical disabilities . But equally I am not impressed by state monopoly and inefficiency how we fail to grab with both hands innovation and progress in green technologies that would generate new jobs with dignity .for working people why we are wedded to wage slavery and fail to recognise all humans can add value to their community and society .
Thank you for this article which is very relevant and timely.
I have always felt that liberalism should have an appeal to people from all social backgrounds.
However I am very concerned that the progressive centre-left have stopped talking about class and focus on equality main through the prism of cultural and identity politics.
The Tories are apparently aiming to pitch themselves as a party willing to tackle economic and geographical inequality whilst rejecting identity based politics.
It is unbelievable given their track record of reducing public spending, tearing apart the welfare safety net and widening inequality, but they might be able to pull it off because the left has become so out of touch with what most voters think.
I left school at 16 with one ‘O’ level and a couple of CSEs. I have lived in a council flat, worked shifts in a factory for 18 years, have been a Lib Dem member for 31 years and employed as campaigns staff since 2005. My experiences often help me point our candidates and councillors back towards the real world.
Ah! But what is “Class”?
What is “Race”?
Aren’t we all humans in flux? Some get richer; some get poorer. Does their class change?
In direct sunlight, I tan. My blonde wife, on the other hand, burns and goes red. Are we different races?
Who cares? We’re humans. We work together towards common goals.
Or we decide we decide we’re different from each other.
(I’m now going to hide under the kitchen table and await the brickbats – but there is no scientific basis for either class or race – and nor is there any reason for discrimination along those lines).
The first issue that needs to be tackled is how to eliminate poverty. In fact there is huge evidence that poverty is increasing in this country.
Joe McCauley in his very welcome contribution mentions the party’s approach to Universal Basic Income. We need to put flesh on this and other ideas and campaign on them.
The reason I believe this is not because it would result in an increase in support from the electorate, although it would, but that it is the best way of ensuring a more confident society able to face up to the issues of the destruction of our environment.
@Tom Harney
“In fact there is huge evidence that poverty is increasing in this country.”
Well – not really!
The graph the Joseph Rowntree Trust have shows that for England over the past 10 years or so – there were 22% of the people in poverty at the end of the Labour government, dropped to 21% during the coalition years people here will be pleased to learn – an all time low – and in the most recent couple of years are back at 22% – so pretty flat!
https://www.jrf.org.uk/data/poverty-levels-and-trends-england-wales-scotland-and-northern-ireland
With poverty – i.e. relative poverty – below 60% of median wages – and in fact people can get poorer but “poverty” (i.e. relative poverty) can go down – if whole population gets poorer & the median wage goes down and vice versa.
We should look at how working at the minimum wage actually means that you are better off. I did some calculations for example on the benefits calculator “entitled to” 2 years ago which showed for example a single person renting in the private sector in the south was £1 an hour better off working. And most of that will be eaten up in the costs of working – getting to work etc.
Now it varies a bit by circumstances – if you are a couple and if you have children etc. but broadly that persists.
The are two main things that hit someone when they move into work.
The first hit is having to pay around £1000 in council tax.
Local Income Tax would make this fairer as you would have your personal allowance so someone on the minimum wage would pay nothing.
And it would be cost neutral.
As yes – the wealthy – who get a good deal out of the council tax – would have to pay a bit more.
But I appreciate that some here favour a land value tax – but I’m not sure that it would help as much.
And LIT would reduce the average household’s tax bill to the council which is a popular campaigning slogan – perhaps especially in “working class” areas.
The second “hit” people get is losing all or virtually all of their housing benefit.
There’s now quite a stark contrast in effectively how well off people on low incomes are in social rented housing against the private rented.
It’s slightly a “well you don’t want to start from here” problem!
But I feel that it’s not beyond the wit of mankind (& womankind) to come up with a scheme that takes the £20 billion or so we pour into the pockets of private landlords and do something better with it!
@ Marco,
“… the progressive centre-left have stopped talking about class and focus on equality main through the prism of cultural and identity politics……. the left has become so out of touch with what most voters think.”
Yep. You’re right. This is why the “red wall” has crumbled and why the Lib Dems don’t have a significant vote share outside the of social groups A and B. That’s why its possible for Labour to do much better in Canterbury and Putney than in Stoke-on-Trent or Grimsby.
This is not to say that issues of gender and race should be ignored but neither should the issue of class. We can all disagree with Priti Patel and maybe Rishi Sunak safe in the knowledge that their race and/or gender isn’t a factor. That’s because of their relatively high social status which neutralises any doubts we might have about ourselves on that.
Social class is still an issue even if we choose to not talk about it.
My justification for the claim that poverty is increasing in this country does not claim to be based on any statistics, although the figures provided by Michael 1 of recent years are truly shocking. One out of five people living in poverty.
However I see every day evidence of poverty. More and more people relying on food banks, more and more people forced to live in sub-standard housing and so on.
The evidence is that children from low income families do substantially less well at school. That a major factor in Covid outcomes is poverty.
It is of course all a question of definition, but I do not think that it is useful to look at figures without first considering both the definition and the data on which figures are based.
We are have views based on our own experience of the world. I remember visiting Ireland for the first time around 1960. There were people begging in the streets whereever we went in the centre of Dublin. This was something I had never seen in England. I see it now though.
So the issue is how do we make sure that every one can have proper housing and still afford healthy food.
Of course social class has to be taken seriously. It depends what you do with your recognition of class as a reality. I’ve never seen myself as taking part in class struggles. But I’ve spent 50 odd years working with some of the poorest communities in the land and never wavered in my Liberalism. If there was a personal class struggle it was trying to relate to my parents and all that their working class background had given them as I climbed the educational ladder from council grammar school and moved on to a couple of universities (including Cambridge). But then it was back to life with the poor. My first primary school was Cambridge Street in Newcastle where the houses in due course vanished in slum clearance. So I’ve always enjoyed the joke that the beginning and end of my formal education shared a common name.
You don’t need to have emerged from the areas that Joe and I emerged from in Glasgow and Newcastle to have some understanding of working class experiences. Listening in the right places is the name of the game. In no way do I see myself as working class and I cringe at the “more working class than thou” attitude of some Labour politicians.
I applaud lots in the above contributions, while happy to have represented a ward with serious poverty issues for the last ten years. Labour seem to think the working classes of our area have betrayed themselves by getting three Lib Dem councillors.
Tom Harney will be surely proved right when the latest poverty statistics are available, that poverty is increasing this year. The Trussell Trust reports on soaring use of food banks will back him up meantime, as will the soaring numbers of unemployed people and of claimants for universal credit which are obvious to everyone.
The Social Metrics Commission report on Measuring Poverty, published on July 1, does show a static level of poverty comparing 2018-19, the year of the latest statistics, with the previous year, but that is obviously no guide for this year of exceptional hardship. But even if the statistics were to show little change, as Tom Harney says they are in any case shocking. The 14.4 million in poverty then included 4.5 million children, and that is 33% of British children. We surely need to put fighting poverty at the head of our campaigning as a party, which will benefit first of all working-class people living in deprived areas – see the Build Back Fairer report from Professor Marmot, described in one of the other OpEds here today.
To appeal to working class people we need to be relevant and easy to join or associate with. For them and others with plenty of other things to invest their money in it must be cheap and perhaps free for the first year. People support causes generally and so we must discover some causes that are authentic, resonate and distinguish us. When we link the cause to our values then they might join or at least follow us.
This is such a good artcle that really highlights a situation that the Liberal Democrats should look into. I myself was of the exact same opinions only ten days ago when I eventually made the step of joining the party.
There are many people across the UK that would get a lot from being a member if that is something which is made available to them. If they are welcomed and made to feel they will be valued. It’s a great approach.
Joe this is an excellent article that really chimes with me. I found the party too, as an idealistic 16 year old in 1987 in a working class area with no Liberal activity for many decades. In those days the BBC would show the party conferences, and watching these made it clear to me that the Liberals were the party for me. I joined, and had a couple of years as a member with nothing to do, then went to uni and at last found active local parties, with Focuses to deliver and canvassing to do. But the middle-class bias among the membership did make me feel a bit isolated, and still does. I’ve grown to love our party’s people, but there is a real disconnect between them and the people I grew up with. And a failure at local level to understand how to recruit and inspire members from the less leafy areas: not everyone thinks the social highlight of the year is a cheese and wine evening with Shirley Williams.
@Martin Campbell – welcome! Despite my gripe above, like Joe I’m totally wedded to this party, for all its faults. You will find its people are very special. Inspiring, infuriating, generous, eccentric, deeply committed and all very proud of the great political tradition we are a part of maintaining. Its up to us blue collar types to shape the party more in the direction we want to see it go. But welcome. Its great to have you – and Joe, thank you again. Great article.
Welcome, Martin, good to have you on board!
@ Peter Hirst,
“To appeal to working class people we need…… For them and others with plenty of other things to invest their money…… we must discover some causes that are authentic, resonate and distinguish us. When we link the cause to our values then they might join or at least follow us”
Spot the problem here? You’re making it quite clear, with your usage of “we”, “us”, and “our” , vs “them”, “their” and “they” that “they” aren’t “we” !
@Chris. I think it may be safe to come out from under your table. Three days on I see no one throwing sharp objects at you, which is very gratifying. Clearly your perspective is broadly supported in the party.
@Martin Campbell. You very welcome. Regarding this whole business of the middle class males and their domination of the party, in practice they may have a certain self confidence but ultimately it’s the people who talk sense who are listened to, whatever their back ground.
A very long time ago (1973) we were challenging Labour in a by-election in Manchester Exchange (a constituency that disappeared in the following election), which was around 90% Council housing. Labour though they ‘owned’ it, and were aggressive about our intervention. But they had hardly any members within the constituency itself. I recall one Labour activist saying to me, quietly, ‘More of your canvassers from outside the constituency look as if they might live inside the constituency than ours.’ That was probably because more of ours were students. Since then Labour has become even more a party of activists from better-off areas.