White Working Class 'Has No Voice'

A majority of white working class Britons feel nobody speaks for people like them, a BBC survey has suggested.

Some 58% said they felt unrepresented compared with 46% of white middle class respondents to a Newsnight poll.

Source

Very interesting poll - But I do agree, the working class in general are no longer represented by the political parties...

I remember i had this builder working in my house a year or so ago and started talking to him about 'politics' and what he thought of the wars that were occuring...

his reply '' y'know what m'love i dont give two hoots bot these *&^&^7 im just a labourer since when were we considered for decision making. i am a healthy pensioner who reads the Sun and eats fish and chips i am sure they are happy me being schumt'

ahhh great builder he was too! loved my tea

I think the white working class has got a voice (one of the biggest voices of the lot, as a matter of fact) but it simply doesn't use it any more. Yes, the parties have changed... but why shouldn't they? Britain's situation continuously changes, and for political parties not to change with it would be counter-productive. For example, applying 1980s Labour Party policies (e.g. mass nationalisation, unilateral disarmament) to the first decade of the twenty first century would be madness.

In addition, it's probably the working class who are least likely to vote... although it's wrong, a politician is more likely to listen to a group who can kick him or her out at the next election than a group that is less likely to bother to vote. A sad fact.

I'm not surprised on the "immigration" part, with such "wonderful" news items as:
* "Immigrants have taken four in ten homes since 1997"
* "Half a million migrants pour into Britain in 2006"
* "One in five babies born to foreign mother in UK"
* "684 Britons leave Britain every day"
* "A migrant arrested every four minutes in UK"

While Japan builds robots to fill "the jobs native Japanese won't do", Britain (and the rest of the West) floods themselves with immigrants - we'll see who comes out on top after the coming (?) economic...."slowdown" (if not the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 30's) of the U.S. - and if it's not painfully obvious, my money's on the Japanese.

reply to post by Chaoticar


To be fair, only one of the sources you list isn't a British tabloid. One rule I've come to use is that you should never rely on the tabloids for accurate information on certain issues (immigration being one of them).

You do raise an interesting point, though... would increased automation be a better way overall? It certainly couldn't solve all labour shortages but it might help.

Originally posted by Ste2652
To be fair, only one of the sources you list isn't a British tabloid. One rule I've come to use is that you should never rely on the tabloids for accurate information on certain issues (immigration being one of them).

To be fair, tabloids are "sensationalist" - but they can't be any worse than the BBC!

Originally posted by Ste2652
You do raise an interesting point, though... would increased automation be a better way overall? It certainly couldn't solve all labour shortages but it might help.

I apologise if I appear "xenophobic", or even "racist", (Note: I'm a New Zealander, not a Briton - just classifying), but I believe that the current "flood" of immigration throughout Europe, America etc is nothing more than a politically, socially and economically dangerous Ponzi scheme, designed to obtain economic growth at all costs.

Already, there is much concern that non-white immigrants to Europe have higher birth-rates than the native Europeans, and that in 50 or so years they may make up..."sizeable" minorities. Now, there has not been a single country, nation or empire that has been able to rule over minorities 20%+ without either resorting to:

1. Oppression - the economically/politically/militarily powerful minority lords it over the others using the threat of military action, secret police etc, eventually leading to a powderkeg scenario which will result either in peaceful disintegration of the state, or violent disintegration of the state. (Historical Example: The U.S.S.R)
2. Integration - either by direct/indirect means, integration both ethnically and culturally is encouraged/enforced, leading to a single "super-culture" and "super-ethnicity", removing all trace of ethnic/cultural differences. (Historical example: Post-Roman Britain).
3. Division - often the result of the first scenario, ethnic tensions erupt, destroying the country and ending with "ethnically homogenous" regions, as the dominant "minorities" of each region ethnically cleanse the others through acts of violence or intimidation. (Historical Example: Yugoslavia).

Continuing on the subject of birth-rates, native Japanese have quite possibly some of the lowest birth-rates of the industrialised world - however they have heavy immigration restrictions in place and are developing/using robots to fill gaps in "unskilled labour". But the point is, in 50 years Japan may have a catastrophic population decline to 50% of the current population, however Japan will still be almost-completely Japanese.

What can be said of the current trends in Europe and the rest of the West?

I think people forget how important culture and heritage are for uniting a country and bettering their overall efforts. I'm not xenophobic or racist at all (the very fact that I have to clarify this when discussing such a subject speaks volumes about the mess we're in). As an earlier poster stated, Nations fall and Empires crumble when commonality and culture are lost.

Having said that, I do believe that we white Brits are very much to blame for surrendering our culture without so much as a hint of struggle. We're neglecting family, community, our beautiful British landscapes and traditional British craft. Our largest remnant of cultural pride amounts to little more than obsession with football - ironic considering how our National team's manager and a majority of the league players are foreign.

Originally posted by Cythraul
I think people forget how important culture and heritage are for uniting a country and bettering their overall efforts. I'm not xenophobic or racist at all (the very fact that I have to clarify this when discussing such a subject speaks volumes about the mess we're in). As an earlier poster stated, Nations fall and Empires crumble when commonality and culture are lost.

Having said that, I do believe that we white Brits are very much to blame for surrendering our culture without so much as a hint of struggle. We're neglecting family, community, our beautiful British landscapes and traditional British craft. Our largest remnant of cultural pride amounts to little more than obsession with football - ironic considering how our National team's manager and a majority of the league players are foreign.

Yeah, I'd pretty much agree with you completely, Cythraul. Well said.

Fabio will do a good job for England though, I am sure.

It is a shame that you have to state "I am not racist" when you make a remark that is in favour of white people, but it's the reality of the mess we are in, as you said. I like to think there is a better option than voting for the BNP. As much as they try and portray a more positive image these days, they attract too many racist thugs for me to ever want an association with them. Who is honestly gonna stand up for the white man though? I don't think anyone will anymore because they are too afraid of being labeled a racist, so I can sympathise with people who think they have no voice. I certainly don't think I have in Britain.

I think the starting premise is flawed.

I can't think of a time when people didn't think politicians generally were in it all just for themselves or that they took no notice of 'the people' or were looking out for the interests of others
(in the UK usually the already privileged).

All those 'high immigrant birth rate' scare stories rely on ignoring the truth that immigrants quickly begin to adopt western ways and have to live a western cost of living which sees their higher birth rates fall to levels that are our norm within a few years.

Anyone watching the BBC's recent 'white' series would have seen more than a few bigots bending over backwards to avoid talking about colour tho it was obvious that a person's skin colour was what really bugged them
(some admitted that the preferred white immigrants and then went on to bash Black people for "not sharing the same culture", seriously).
Tho seeing the Jewish couple getting weird about their neighbours for being different (black) was pretty sad, albeit they seemed to have no hatreds over them.

One guy in Barking (a place I know very well) involved with the BNP had a daughter give him a black grandchild and his other daughter was going out with a lad of mixed race (which he needed to have pointed out to him).
I guess it was kind of ironic that he couldn't see the lad's 'colour'.
He moved away to the seaside because he claimed not to feel safe in Barking
(like as if Barking before the last wave of immigrants was ever a really safe place!).
They're a funny bunch those racists.
I've even seen some claiming that "the Blacks are alright, it's the 'Pakis' I can't stand".

They seem to me to be a very confused & ageing lot.

Tho the old Jewish Holocaust survivor guy with his Kenyan girlfriend was pretty funny & sweet.

A lot of this seems to me to be the usual moan.
For most of us the politicians are never going to come along and do something to make us all well-off or rich.
Nor can they wave a magic wand and make everyone around us behave properly all the time either.

Get over it.

For all the faults and flaws most of us have it pretty damned good and are blessed to be alive in this country compared to the vast majority of people alive in the world right now or who have ever lived.

[edit on 15-3-2008 by sminkeypinkey]

@ sminkeypinkey

I used to share your views. I commend you on them. Unfortunately, nowadays I've realised just how much I value Britain and Britain's cultures. The BNP lot have their faults no doubt and I don't appreciate racism in any form. However, regarding BBC's White Season, the BBC as a representative of the state (arguably) have an interest in backing the governments pro-multiculturalist agenda and therefore when making those programmes, clearly chose people with more deplorable viewpoints. Speaking personally, I know a hell of a lot of people who aren't racist, who would never single out 'pakis' or demonstrate such bigotted views, who recognise that immigration/multi-culturalism is out of hand.

We have it good, of course, but by almost all accounts, Britain isn't what it once was. I'd rather fight for 'Great' Britain than give over to complacency because "it might have degraded but its still better than most other places in the world". That kind of thinking will lead to Britain's destruction.

Originally posted by sminkeypinkey

Tho the old Jewish Holocaust survivor guy with his Kenyan girlfriend was pretty funny & sweet.

For all the faults and flaws most of us have it pretty damned good and are blessed to be alive in this country compared to the vast majority of people alive in the world right now or who have ever lived.

[edit on 15-3-2008 by sminkeypinkey]

The old Jewish fella, he is the chap that used to have the womens clothing stall outside what used to be "Simons Stores", this man has been in Barking for "donkeys years", a Holocaust survivor , he has been through enough, more than what most of us can ever imagine!

We are lucky to be alive in this country! when you see what is going on around the world and what other people have to put up with...thank ourselves very lucky.

For sure, there is no one political party that i can think of, that would give me and my family everything we want, without taking something back, they are all in it for themselves one way or another.

Barking has got more violent over the last 5/10yrs, but then so has every other place in this country, it is true that half of Old Barking has moved to the coast, or at least out of the borough, not purely because of the immigration / housing concerns within the area, but there has been alot of movement in /out of the borough over the last 2 yrs especially?
There could be many factors that have caused this , one is the influx of immigrants, one is the cost of housing, one is that many people have grown-up children and have decided to move out of city life altogether, the list is endless.....But im sure that some of the above is the same for larger towns up and down the country?


No matter what party you vote for , No matter who is in power....We will find something to moan about!