Skip to main content
It’s liberating to recognise that there only two classes – us and them
There’s a growing class consciousness in Britain and it’s a powerful force, argues GFTU general secretary DOUG NICHOLLS
Monopoly board

QUACK sociology and shallow political analysis have always sought to confuse and distort the nature of class in Britain.

“Political theorists” rummage through our dustbins to see if we drink Chianti or Carlsberg and grade our lifestyle differences to try to split us into subclasses on the basis of whether we eat sausage and mash or foie gras and fenugreek. 

This approach is an essential part of the culture of divide and rule, and reaches artistic levels of subtlety in Britain as reflected in the positioning of food shops — are you Waitrose or Asda? — and the location and pricing of housing. 

Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (centre front) stands with L
Features / 16 July 2024
16 July 2024
DOUG NICHOLLS, chair of the think tank Rebuild Britain, encourages creative engagement with the new government on economic matters particularly
Delors TUC
Features / 30 December 2023
30 December 2023
DOUG NICHOLLS, former general secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions and lifelong campaigner against the European Union, reflects on the recent death of one of the main architects of the EU
U.S. President Joe Biden, right, and Chinese President Xi Ji
Features / 16 November 2022
16 November 2022
The GFTU has been running education courses on what is really happening in China and the US, Doug Nicholls reflects on some of the learnings and the importance of the recent US-China talks in Bali
Community organisations Acorn and Southwark Defend Council h
Features / 19 October 2022
19 October 2022
In the second of a two-part feature for TUC week, DOUG NICHOLLS, general secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions discusses the underestimated strength of community organisations and the value of a new working relationship with trade unions
Similar stories
LANGUAGE BARRIER: Princess Margaret meeting pop group The Be
International Women's Day 2025 / 8 March 2025
8 March 2025
Decades after Dale Spender’s groundbreaking work on how language embeds male dominance, the struggle to reshape words that accurately reflect women’s experiences remains both vital and unfinished, writes JULIA BARD
Budget
Features / 3 November 2024
3 November 2024
In the first of two articles, ROBERT GRIFFITHS argues that despite a parliamentary majority, Labour’s timid Budget fails to seize a historic opportunity and lacks the ambition needed to address Britain’s deep social and economic crises
Piketty
Books / 27 September 2024
27 September 2024
ALEX HALL recommends a concise summary of Thomas Piketty’s forensic examination of inequality and how it is produced
8 - Farage tank
Features / 14 August 2024
14 August 2024
NICK WRIGHT dissects the contradictory views of Reform UK voters, finding significant opportunities for the left to challenge far-right narratives by addressing its voters’ legitimate economic concerns