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    Owen Jones - Chavs - The Demonization of The Working Class-Verso (2012)

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    THE No.1 POLITICS BOOK OF THE YEAR CHAVS THE DEMONIZATION OF THE WORKING CLASS OWEN JONES ‘Passionate and well documented’ Eric Hobsbawm, Guardian Books ofthe Year ‘Superb and angry’ Polly Toynbee, Guardian ‘As with all the best polemicists, a luminous anger backlights ‘Jones's prose’ Economist ‘Atrenchant exposure of our new class-hatred and what lies behind it’ John Carey, author of The Intellectuals ‘and the Masses ‘Alively, well-reasoned and informative counterblast’ Sean O'Hagan, Observer ‘Eloquent and impassioned’ Evening Standard ‘Awork of passion, sympathy and moral grace’ Dwight Garner, New York Times ‘The working class has become an object of fear and ridicule. Media and politicians alike dismiss as feckless, criminalized and ignorant a vast, underprivileged swathe of society whose ‘members have become stereotyped by one hate-filled word:chavs, In this acclaimed investigation, Owen Jones explores how the ‘working class has gone from ‘salt of the earth’ to ‘scum of the arth’ Chavs isa powerful, illuminating and disturbing portrait of ‘inequality and class hatred in modern Britain, @Owenoneesh + wwwowenjonesons "Chania persuasively angued, and packed fill of good reporting and useful information... [Jones] makes an important contbuton toa revived debate about case” Lynsey Hanley, author of Esse: An Itinate Hist “Jones's analysis ofthe condition ofthe working elas i very atte ‘A book ike this is very much needed forthe American scene, where the illusion similarly perpetuated by the Democrats thatthe middle class is allthat mater, that everyone can spice tin the middle clas ors slready par oft Hfingtn Post “Ablinding ead” Suzanne Moore, Guardian “{A]shough-provoking examination of relatively new yet widespread derogatory characterization ofthe working clas in Brain. iting and diagitng in equal mesure.” Publics Weekly “A fiery reminder of how the sytem has fled the poor” eter Hoskin, Daly Baas ‘Sean in the ight of the ots and the worldwide Occupy protests isd analysis of a divide soiery appears uncannily prescient” Mathew Biggs, defo “A pasionate and well documented denunciation ofthe uppers ‘omrempe for the pols that has recently become so visible the Bish clas rytem Eric Hobsbawm, Guardian Hooks ofthe Year ‘Me. Jones's book is cleaeyed examination ofthe British das sytem, and itposs this rua question: “How has hated of working-class people become so socially acceptable?” His imal answers combine wit lefwing poles and outrage” Dwight Gamer, New York Times CHAVS ‘The Demonization of the Working Class OWEN JONES ‘hispid Ve 2 ‘npblby Ven ‘afin ei ty NF erotik es ry Cato i Ps ctl dr Babes use om th Bas ay ary of Cones Canoe Pbiion Dat [Acad esate tome iba Cees “ype Fourier by My) Gna Tr, Comal Pd bendy CI reng(0R) Ll Caen CROAYY * Contents Praface tthe Now Editon Introduction 1. The Strange Case of Shannon Matthews Class Warriors 3. Politicians vs Chave |. A Classi the Stocks ‘Wee all middleclass now A Rigged Society Broken Britain Backlash Conclusion: A New Class Politics? Aeknosledgements Notes Index B » 109 139 1 185, a m7 m ms a7 Preface to the New Edition [Nobody expected Ghenstoattracthalfas much tention asit did. And if ‘thad been released even three or four years ago, I doubt thar it would hhavedone so wel, But thebook'simpacthad esto do withthe provoc- ative ttle and everything t0 do withthe fact that cass is back with a vengeance. ‘During the hoom period it was posible toa least pretend class was ‘no more—that ‘we're all middle class now’, a politicians and media pundits putt. As chancellor of the exchequer, Gordon Brown had pro- ‘nounced the end of boom and bust’, and it seemed as though a future of rising living standards beckoned forall. Ata time of economic chaos, this period loks ikea golden age—evenif we now know our sense of prosperity was built on sand. Yes, was true that real wages stagnated for the bottom half and declined for the bottom third from 2004 ‘onwards —that is, four years before the economic collapse began. But the availabilty of cheap credit helped paper over Britain’s growing. class divisions, which, despite the hbri ofthe politcal and media elite, -were as entrenched a evr. ‘Chava was my contribution to ending the conspiracy of silence over lass, Bu, unexpectedly, it pushed at an open door. Economic crisis Ihelped to refocus attention on the unjust distribution of wealth and power in society. Throughout 201, living standards for the average Briton were declining atthe fastest rat since the 1990s. The Child Poverty Action Group warned that poor families faced a “tiple ‘whammy’ ofbenefit, suppor and service cuts tating thatthe colton government’ legacy threatens tobe the worst poverry cord of any government for a generation.” Butit emained boom time forthe people atthe top. tn 201, board- 00m pay for Brit's top one hundred companies soared by 49 per cent the previous year, ithad shotupby 85 percent. The weathof the ‘ches 1,00 Britons, mean, nereased by a ih afer leaping by 30 percent—thebiggestncrease ever recorded in 210, Shortly aier arvving in office, the Conservatives’ austerity Chancellor George Osborne had chimed ‘we're all n this together’ As the statement ‘veered been hidicrous and offensive, few were now making the case that cass division no longer mattered in Brtin. Although wanted ro encourage broad debate bout clas, the le chose proved contentious For some crc, the book fled acknowl cge that she objet of demonization was unidentifiable subgroup of undesiables—a workles Burberry-weating underlas rater than the working class 2s a whole. Sometimes sid these crc, gotbogged down in discussing the origins and deinion ofthe erm ‘hav’. Given that 1 had plastered the word across the book's cover, it would have been brash t refuse o engage in such a debate. But dhe book wasnt simply about the word. It aimed to challenge the myth that ‘we're all idl cass now’ that most ofthe old working clas had been “aspirational and joined ‘Middle Briain (whatever that was), leaving Irina fekless, problematic rump. This was ofen raid and described as the ‘white working clas. “Chavs’ was the term — encompassing a whole range of pejorative connotations —that best, summed up this caricature Shorty afer Choy was published,» study by poling organization Britain Thinks revealed justhow demonized working-ls deny had become. As Chas pointed ou, most polls have consistently shown berween 50 and 55 per cent stubborly sliding at working dees ve wali las’ mating meno fe rcnThinevevled dt 7 prc eed ile Ge ha pr crt oping or wocig clam Unde he onanism odo vt te a at, we none ng nt cacy we cr er wrt alc pions choos fom (ower, ile sd ped). ut he was 2 fore profs and ubing explanation. According 0 Bra ‘nk Debora ainon,afomer ll for Gordon Bowe: “There wasa strong lng in the focus groups chat the noble ae Gio oe espeobl snd lige working dass was ovr For thet time; Isa the working-dan ag used asa, equated hotest ims ch shaved oop Trember 10 make calles wing newsppe nd maga ip ing show wha the working cw was May cove eeply Tnuteaive mages exces, cont sige) EoD WOE, tacky designe lots, ote, drags and overeting Members of one focus group sel-identiied as middle class; another ‘opted for working class. Their backgrounds, jobs and incomes were almost exactly the sume. The difference was that che ‘midle-clas' self identifiers were tying to distance themselves from an unappealing Fdentity in favour of one with a strkingly posiive image. As Deborah Mattinson put it ‘being midale clas i about being, well, 2 bit classy’ “The working-class label was ao longer something people fel that they ‘ould wear with pride. Far from it it had effectively become synony- ‘mous with ‘chav’.” "The minority tha did describe themselves as working clas strug- led to come up with postive contemporary images ro express their ‘own idencity. Focus group participants suggested the 1960s as the heyday of working-class Britain. When asked to define what it meant to be working clas, a common theme was it ‘tends to just mean ‘being poor” ‘The BritainThinks studies identified some of the consequences of the socal an politcal forces that Chas ad tried to identify. First, the ‘Thatcherite assault on many of che pillars of working-class Britain, from trade unions to traditional industries. Secondly, a political con. sensus esablished by Thatcherism: that we should all aspire to be ride clas, and that being working clas was no longer something to bbe proud of. Thirdly, the almost complete absence of accurate repre= sentations of working-class people in the media, on TV, and in the political world, n favour of grotesque ‘chav’ caricatures. ‘The term ‘chav’ is used by different groups of people throughout Brits sociery. Practically nobody, except in jest, sl-identifis as a chav. The tem is almost always an insule imposed on individuals against ther consent, butts exact meaning changes depending on who is wielding it, and the context in whichis used ‘Thatssid 36 Thave shown nthe book, the term is undeniably used in dass ashion, ‘Take ChavTowns, a pretty nausea 1g website which—I'm proud to say-—has added my name 1 its rol ell of villains. ChavTowns ridicules entire communities. As it happens, my own hometown of Stockport es it ofaanering a the hands of anonymous individu- als brimming with undiluted clas hatred: “To be fair, Stockport has Some very wealthy areas. Unfortunately, ithas more than its fir share ‘of scummy ones 100, says one. Another moans that 'T have to admit I fel ashamed to have t write Stockport on my address, despite being from one of its much, much nicer suburbs (yes they do exist)” Yet nother post, writen by someone describing themselves as living in the ‘charming village of Cheadle Hulme’, savages people living on Stockpon’s council estes. But that’s not to say this demonizaton is straightforward. In her review of Chars, Lynsey Hanley—auhor ofthe brilliant tater: de “Intimare Hisory—angued that class hatred wasn't simply ‘a one-way street’ uta ‘collusive, often subtle, proces which demeans everyone In facta great deal of chav-bathing goes on within working-class eilbowhons, pay acne of the age-ld dvide heme hone Mhetin for sepecali and thw wo sin! {char-baing cn fen cone fom workings peopl an Pepin of fron ancl nen win th oncom Fess. Cleaned op mitochon al ed Peete ccc wm more ly knpen acme wh ies of prey and nempeymen at ia eth he pet of oscar ecient Bot Pp on ly sin wocting dn rope hn idea people. Those onthe reeivngendoften—unsurprisingly—have ile Symp forthe perpetrstor, particularly ithe share a similar set of ficult economic circumstances but donot themselves resort to ani- social behaviour. It’s also not the case that hostility to supposed "benefit cheats the sole preserve of middle-class Daily Mail readers—the n ‘itching types who rant about gays and Gypsies Ifyou are someone scrapingby in low-paid ob, the feeling that there are people down the soe living it up a your expense may well nfurate you more than anything cle. 17s an age-old example of the ‘poor agains the poor’, ‘nd right-wing politicians and journalists exploit such sentiments ruth- lesly. Extreme examples of benefit fraudsters’ are hunted down with telishby the tabloids, and are passed off, notasisoated examples buras representative of an endemic and fa bigger problem. The ‘serounger’ hhas become the pubic face of the unemployed in Britain. "That's not to say there in't a widespread understanding about the causes behind the increase in Jongc-term unemployment. As one working-class cef-identifer putt in the BritainThinks sudy, ‘We've ‘now got this benefc generation which started when Thatcher closed all ‘ofthe industries’ Ckave attempted to present acorrectiveto these exag- ‘erated tales of benefit feaud. Such fraud, indeed, epresensless than 1 per cent of total welfare spending, and up to 60 times less than tax ‘avoidance atthe other end ofthe economic spectrum. Meanwhile, the ‘des that there are pleny of job if only people could be bothered to rag themselves down to the Jobcentre is visible. All the evidence shows tha most unemployed people desperately want work: they cat find any. At the end of 2011, the Daily Telegraph reported that there ‘were twenty-three jobseekers in the UK chasing every job vacancy. For every rel jb, there were forty-two applications; in customer services it was forry-six” In some communities, the picture is even leaker. In Hull, there are 18,795 jobseekers chasing 318obs. Thereare simply noe enough jobs to go round. But with this realty largely ban- ished fiom our newspapers and TV screens, and with tax-avoiding businesspeople a distant, abstract concept for mos, it isa challenging cease to make. ‘The demonization of working-class people also stems from inseeu- rity, oF “tocial distancing’ from those in superficially similar circumstances. BritanThinks revealed that those belonging o groups ‘most likely 10 be sigmatized as chavs can often be among the most vociferous in ther chav-bashing. One long-term incapacity benefit claimant denounced chavs who were supposedly milking the system =0 did two unemployed teenage mothers. Ths isn't clasistcontempe: it ‘comes froma fear ofbeing lumped in with a demonized grouping. Here is one ugly consequence of persistent attacks on the unemployed and teenage mothers: prejudice can even be voiced by those who are shemselves targeted, Inlarge par, the demonization ofthe working lass isthe legacy of concerted effort ¢o shift public attitudes, which began under Thatcher, continued with New Labour and has guined farther momentum under the coaiion, Poverty and unemployment were no longer tbe seen as social problems, but oreo do with individual moral flings. Anyone could make itt they tried hard enough, or so the myth went. I people were poor, it was because they were lary, spendthrift or lacked sspiration. "The latest Social Attudes Survey, published at the end of 2011, shows justhow success this projecthas been. Even as esonomiccrisis swelled the ranks ofthe unemployed and poor, tudes towards them |. With neatly 2.7 milion people out of work, over half of surveyed believed that unemployment benefits were too highand deterring people from geting a job. Of course, few would have from reading newspapers or watching TY that the Jobseekers was worth ust £67.50—and even less for those under the “age of twenty-six. Another 63 per cent believed that a factor driving “hild poverty was parens “who don't want to work’. Depressing stuf, ‘ot surprising given the Thatcherite onslaught, New Labour's to challenge Conservative dogma on social problems, and the “aitbrushing in the media concealing the realty of poverty and loyment. Ad of course, such atts have polities! consequences. If you “thie poverty and wnemployment are personal filings rather than "social problems, then why havea welfare state tall? The Social Ati= "tudes Survey revesled that support for the redistribution of wealth had lle to jus a third; towards the end of Margaret Thatche's reign in "1989, i-was over hall. Demonization serves a usefal purpose in a divided society ike our own, because itpromotes the deathatinequal- _ ity rational: itis simply an expression of difering alent and ability. “Those atthe bottom ace supposedly there because they are stupid zy | or otherwise morally questionable. Demonization isthe ideological ‘backbone of an unequal society. “Another criticism facing Chovs was that it glorified a golden age that “never existed, presenting a rose-tinted view of an industrial world that “was finished off by the Thatcheite experiment. But I do not believe ‘that his wa the argument presented inthe book. As Chav emphasized, “industrial work was often backbreaking and dirty. Women were often + excluded from these jabs; and when they were no, they didnot have “the same status as men. There were countless other problems that a -dewy eyed portrait of the industrial past wetten by an author in his _mid-rwentes would filo address. “My point, however, was different one: that she vactum left by the "massive dissppearance in industrial work was often not filled properly, leaving entire communities bereft of secure, well-regarded work Service-sector jobs are on the whole cleaner, less physically arduous, and are beter at including women (even if ehey ar il disproportion” ately concentrated inthe lowes paid and mos insecure work). But such ‘work is often less wel psi, lacks the sime prestige, and is more likely re, Call centres and supermarkets donot form the basis in the same way that the mine, fctory, or dock di 1 ‘was ot, though, calling for young men tobe sent down the pits gain. Just because Iwas arguing that what replaced these industries was in ‘some important ways worse does mean that advocated a return toa vanished word. Te-was also suggested that I had a very one-dimensional view ofthe ‘working elas: that what | was etally aking about was male, white working clas. But in fact many of the key examples of demonized figures portrayed as representative of larger groups of people were ‘women—Karen Mathews, Jade Goody and Vicky Pollard, for example. Indeed, class hatred and misogyny often overlap. 1 also wanted «0 emphasize the explosion of women in the workforce in the las few decades: indeed, they now account for over half ofall workers— though of course it must be pointed out that women have always ‘worked, as wells doing much ofthe unpaid housework men traition- ally refused todo."A low-paid, part-time, female sbel-stacker was one of my suggestions for a symbol of the modem working class. We ‘cannot understand class without gender; but that works the other way, too, Women's liberation must address clas: but the retreat from class has often stripped rom the agenda here as everywhere else ‘Chave was sometimes referred to 34 4 book soley about the white working clas. One of the purposes of the book was to take on this narrow exclusive image ofthe working class. Though chavs are ofen regarded a ‘white working-clas' figures, it shouldbe noted the book ‘was intentionally tiled ‘the demonization of the working class’ rather than ‘the whize working class. Afer long arguing ‘we're all mide lass, the media and politicians started talking about the working class tout in a racialzed form, The problems of the ‘white working "vere ascribed to their whitenes, rater than their clas. But Chess agains this alse porte. Indeed, working-class communities Tworkplaces are more likely to be ethnically diverse than their ‘counterparts, Problems faced by working-class people ‘are white—like the housing criss, the lack of good jobs, poor ‘a work, declining living stndards, safe communities —are 10 class, not race. These are problems shared by working-class ofall ethnic backgrounds, [Where race does come into it the fact that working-class people tlnie minority backgrounds suffer from other forms of oppres- and exploitation, The majority of British Bangladeshis and ,forexamplelivein poveryy, whileblack peopleare farmore tobe stopped by the police. Although itis important to address common tall working-class people, it would be wrong to ignore extra oppression suffered by minority groups. ‘One ofthe main reasons that politicians and media commentators talking about the ‘white working clas’ was the emergence of “faeright populism, as most prominently expressed by the British nal Party, But Chave argued that such movements were, aboveall, by social and economic insecurities. This, of course, docs not ‘outright racist bigotry isn’t part of the story, oo. Despite the strides made by the struggles against racism in post-war Britain, “prejudice, bigotry and discrimination remain massive problems at “every level of society. ‘Some felt chat, in exploring an interesting premise, Thad got dis "traced by an outdated grudge against Thatcherism. As Philip Hensher _putivin the Specaor, "The spread of contempt for the urban working "classes is an important subject, but here it gotlost undera welt of ld- © shiool moans about Mrs Thatcher, a if anyone sill cared 1 would “hardly wish to hide my deeply eld antipathy towards Thatcherism, and Chays can hardly be accused of doing so. But the book is inescap- “ably, about the legacy ofthe ‘Thacherite 198s, I do not believe i is possible to divorce class contempt from broader socal and political ‘tends. One ofthe book's key arguments was that sis new clssism had everything to do with an offensive against working,lass Britain, including unions, industries, housing, communities and values. West liven the Britain that Thatcheriam bul: etique oft can hardly be dismissed as ‘old-school moans’ Ttovas also suggested by some thatthe book suffered from a lack of| theoretical explanation. I make no apologies for this. Although in recent years theidea of lasshas norbeen the subject much discussion among academics and leftists, Hiterarure still exists on the subject. Unfortunately, it remains largely unread outside small circles of specialists. One ofthe purposes of Chav iso present ideas about class toa wider audience; i alo aims to promote lefi-wing ideas at atime ‘when the lefts wery weak, That's why it was writen in away that was intended to be readable—t hope i sueceeed inthis. All these ertcims, indeed, were part of a wider debae. Getting people to talk about lass—whether they disagreed with me or nox— ‘was exacly what I had intended. Bue the debate took an unexpected ‘uma coupleof months afer the book was published. Fora few daysin ‘Auguse2011 itlooked as though England was staring into an abyss of ‘social chaos-~and the demonization Ihad writen about flourished like never before. Angustis normally the height of Britain's silly season. With Padiament in recess, news channels end up featuring extra helpings of fatuous celebrity gossip, when not specalaing about one or other embattled party leader's furure or covering stories about talented animals. But 2011 was quite unlike normal years. In year of upheaval, silly season ‘was cancelled-—and communities across England were overwhelmed ‘with rioting, looting and arson. "The unrest began afer the police shor dead rwenty-nine-year-old ‘Mark Dugganin the London borough of Torenham on 6 August 2011 ‘Duggan was black, and in Tottenham the relationship berween the ack community andthe police has a faught history, In 1985, {Gyothin Jarrett—also black—ied during a police raid of het tse, Tottenham exploded in the riots that ook ther name fom the ‘on which they focused, Broadwater Farm. A policeman, PC Blaelock, was ile during the uses it was theirs death of officer during a ot for over 150 year. Though relations have since 1985, many in Towenbam—parculrly young black our reseniments against the police, who they feel harass Indeed black person is thiny times more Hkely than a white tobe stopped and searched under Section 60 by the plein and Wales The police kept Dugas body from his family six hours. Initial reports from the Independent Police ‘Commision that he had fred on the police were widely jeved and later discredited. On the afternoon of Saturday, Inndreds gathered ina peacefal protest ouside Tortenbam Staton, but within hours the mood had trned uly. People the UK swoke the fellowing moringtoblanket media coverage and smoking rubble on Tocenham High tet. happened next was for mos an etely unexpected and tes- disruption vo normalcy. By Monday, the Fs had spread 0 my "London Borough, Hackney. twas my bday and, with celebra- inks cut short as nervous fiends fled home, I cle past "ap shops on Kingaland Road that were being defended by ‘of Tukish men, From Barnet in the nonh to Croydon inthe ‘London's shops wer loted and burned; crowds of ters ram- through the sree, On Monday and Tuesday, uet spread 0 English cites: Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, dogharn, There was a sense, even among mor ational observers, country was descending int chaos. Not since thei during War 1 have so many res raged in London so imensely atone chimed Tine magazine” the chaos, commentators looked at Chav ina new light suppose because the word chav’ wasbeing bandied around describe the rioters, particulasly on Twitter and Facebook. Fran Healey, lad singer of Seonish soisrock band Travis, described the ‘unrest asthe ‘Chav Spring’ ina Tweet, referencing the Arab Speing, Fitness chin GymBox—which sppears in Chave asthe promoter of « “Chav Fighting’ class—announced thei would be shutting early due to the ‘chav infestation’. ‘But above alla link was made with Chaz because the sats shone a light on Britains fractured, divided society. Iwas one ofthe few com- ‘mentators during that rurbulent week asked to challenge the dominant ‘narrative that this was mindless criminality, end of story. Challenging this consensus, especially a the time, was not popular. People fet ter= rotzed in thee communities and Britain was in the throes of an angry backlash. Two daysinto the its, nine-enths of thos polled supported theuse of water cannon; two-thirds wanted thearmy sent in; anda thied supported using live ammunition on rioters. Attempts to understand -whatwas happening were seen a attempts to jusiyit. There was litle appetite forsocial and economic explanations forthe disorder sweeping English cites. People ust wanted to feel safe and for those responsible tobe punished, Inadvertenly, [found myself a the centre of one ofthe ugliest pi sodes ofthe backlash. Along with author Dreda Say Mitchell, as put ‘up against Tudor historian David Starkey onthe BBC's current affairs programme Newsnigh. In anow infamous intervention, Starkey began by quoting Enoch Powell's ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech, which warmed ‘hat immigration into Britain would plunge the country into violent chaos, Powell was—as Starkey acepted —wrong in his prediction that it would bring inter-communal violence. Instead, what Starkey called “black culture’ had turned white peopleinto rioting thugs. “The whites’, Ihe pronounced, ‘have become back. Amemping to scapegoat black people forthe rioting, Starkey used a tortured argument ro navigate around the fact that most rioters were ‘not black. is increasingly bafling-—but clearly carfily planned — ‘ant took an even more alarming turn when he argued that if someone wit to hear prominent black Labour MP David Lammy without him, they would conclude he was whit. Almost paralysed by the before me, esponded that he was equating black with and white with respectability. unnerved me most about Starkeys rhetoric were the posible ‘Gould David Starkey become anew Enoch Powel with like me dismissed a liberal elie tying to crack dowa on for eling the wath? Would badges and tshirts be pro- prolining ‘Starkey s Right? Would there be marches in his like here was in 1968 when Powell was sacked from the Con- ve Shadow Cabinet for his ais bigotry? My fear was that he race at atime of intense anxiery, when people were scared. Bur war sympathy there was fr him was not paric- strong or deeply fe. Since World War I, struggles aginst nd wansfored how people looked at race: or example, ast years ago Callp pol found tht 7 per cent were opposed cial marviage. The number admiting sich prejudice today i on-enitent. Although racism was fr fom being purged ish society, Britain had changed andthe public ramblings of 3 rian were not ging o reverse that. the riots subsided fllowing a surge of police officers onto 5 steets, the Government pledged a crackdown on those With 2 mood of widespread fury, a furious sighting hn followed, carefully nurtured by senior Conservative. One target of rghewing moralzes was singled ot fr patco- probrum: the single mothe. Children without fathers was one factors identified by Tory Prime Minster David Cameron; it point echoed by right-wing commentators. The Daily Express 0 find no contain naming that ‘we have bred feck awlessmales who passono her own children the same mises" jn another paragraph, that ‘ftherlessnes x the single most, fact in modern society hed ofthe arguments of US right-wing pseudo-sociologist Charles Murray who claimed tha rising illegitimacy among the ‘lower classes’ had produced a "New Rabble’. This was classic demoniation, ‘educing complex social prablems to supposed individual lings and ‘behavioural faults. ‘Pervading the backlash was the tak ofa ‘feral underclass was the idea ofthe Vietorian ‘undeserving poor’ taken to a new level: the rioters and heir families weren't just undeserving, they were barely thuman. Some commentators took this shetoric tits logical extreme: right-wing jouralist Richard Litlejohn used his Daily Mail eolumn to ‘Geseribe rioters as a “wolfpack of feral inner-city waifs and strays’, Calling for them tbe clubbed ‘ike baby seals’. The idea of a ‘normal’ Tnidle-class majority versus a problematic underclass was ubiquitous in poseriot commentary. According to Conservative Work and Pen sions Secretary lain Duncan-Smih, "Too many people have remained funaware ofthe tue nature of fe on some of our estates. This was ‘eeause we had ghettoised many of these problems, keeping them out cof sight ofthe middle-class majority.” In the febrile atmosphere that followed the riots, the government proposed that rioters living in council homes should be evicted, slong, trih ther fansilies: in other words collective punishment. t'should be possible o evict them and keep them evicted’, Cameron old MPs, and focal couneils—such as Nottingham, Salford and Westminster— announced ther intention to do precisely that. Further plans were unveiled to dock the welfare benefits of those convicted of commiting ‘rimes during the riots. In this way, a link was made berween the ‘Hotes, counel tenants and people on benefits asa whole—allof which teinforced the notion ofa feral underclass. But a precedent was set in ‘Cameron's Britain if you were poor and if you committed a erime, ou ‘would be punished rwice once through the usice system, and again through che welfare system. ‘Cases were rshed through the courts, but the sentences handed down were it seems, as much about retribution as asic. ‘Mum-of- ‘wo, not involved in disorder, jailed for FIVE months for accepting rom shop’ boasted Greater Manchester Police's Twitter ere are no excuses!’ The police force in question was subse- forced to apologise. Twenty-three-year-old Nicholas pn, aman with no previous convictions this name, was impris- pr aix months for stealing £.50-worth of botled water. Two ‘vere jailed forfour years—more than many manslaughter forusing Facebook once sotsin theirlocal towns. Riots er happened. oxled water and end up in prison forsix months. Bu elp pash wiinto the mostcatastrophic economic crisissnce the 19308 and to face no legal sanctions whatsoever. Even as much of the ‘askrupt financial system remains propped up by tion of * pounds, dollars and euros, nota single banker has ended up dock. What is more, many ofthe British politicians baying for idescreen televisions that were later exrted out of shops by admitedly in a more disorderly fasion, Wen Labour MP_ Kaufinan was found tobave claimed £8,750 of public money for ‘& Olufsen television st, he was simply asked to pay it back. ot Britain trashed the myth that Britain's justice system is blind and power. as an economic cisis caused bythe market was transformed intoa public spending, the pos-rot backlash demonstrated just how the righ isa manipulating criss for its own advantage. The “once againused to enforce the view that social problems were quences of individual filings, and that there was an out-of- feral underclass that needed tobe brought firmly under contol. that the riots magnified a number of the isaes explored ‘Weeks after calm had retired to England's streets, facts merged that challenged the dominant narrative. Iain Duncin-Smith tad blamed gang culture, yet only 13 per cent of those arrested were members of gangs But, according to the govemment's own figures 42 Percent of the young people involved were eligible fr fee school ‘meals, more than rwo and a half imes the national average. The adults arrested were almost three mesa likely tobe on out-of-work benefits 4 the population asa whole. Nearly two thirds of the young rioters lived in Englan’s poorest areas. Here, then, was a sliver of Brisn’s burgeoning young poor. Ie would be simplistic ro argue a straightforward cause and effect: that unemployment and poverty had provoked the unest. Afterall the ‘ast majority of people who were out of work or poor did aot ot. But {here are growing numbers of young people in Britain with no secure fature to risk. Youth unemployment i runing at over 20 per cent ‘There isa esis of affordable housing, the biggest cuts since the 120s, and falling living standards university tution fes have trebled and the Educational Maintenance Allowance for students from poor bck- trounds has been scrapped. Many young, people have been lef with very litle to hope for. For the first ime since the World Wat I, the next generation will be worse off than the generation before i. Of ‘sourse, weal have agency: we don'al espondto the same situation in the same way. Butitonly takes small proportion of young people who hhave nothing much o lose bring chos to theses. also impossible to gnore the fact that men featured so prominently among the rites. Nine out often apprehended rioters were men, Brian's rapid de-industalizaton andthe disappearance of so many stilled midleincome jobs were particlacly dirupive—given tha such work ofien excluded women—to the lives of working-class men. (Over generation ago, a young working-class man could leave school at the age ofsicen and have a decent prospect of getting an apprenceship, training that might open a gateway toa skilled respected ab that ould ‘sve life some structure. But when the jobs and the apprenticeships that ‘supported dhe disappeared there was nothing to take thie place. mi the old indus bearlands are generally sociated with and manufacturing areas inthe North, industry disapeared in the South 00. Hundeedsof thousands of most light indus ‘in London and southern England. In Ocober 2011, W's Cabinet Ofie published eporton the its based in five ofthe worthit area. In Tottenham, for example, four that ‘Decline in local industry and subsequenly in fs high street were factors scen a being responsible fo the jabs. Inerviewers described the hopelessness of some young the fae of imited opportunities.” Again this disappearance ties hasaffeted a large proportion of young workings overwbelming majority of whom didnot ro. But with x0 ng school with nothing much o lok forward to, should that surprising if «small minority should respond to thee in this way. combination of inequality and consumerism alo undoubs- tspart In 179, Briain was one ofthe most equal Wester Ale three decades of Thatchersm, itis now one of the east The Gin oefcen—which measures levels of neuaity ina shot up from 25140 n thre decades London isone of unequal cites on earth: the riches 10 pr ent i worth 273 than the poorest 10 per cen” London is not—yet—like he alent re concentrated nthe cote, and the poorest likely tobe found inthe anus (he suburbs). London, andthe poor ive almost ontop of each other. On adil basis, well-off are able wo see what they will never have, Take Junction, one ofthe scenes of Aust 211s ots. A raway te alunt south from deprived estates tothe nord. If they peopl] ever waned reminding what hey don'thave this ina t0 be! one ‘community sake-holde’ old the Cabinet nis a hyper consumerist society. Status has so mucho do with ‘own or wear. The vast majority of young people want o be prtof this consumerism, but many face huge financial obstacles. What surprised me least of ll about the looting was the targeting of trainers, ‘When I was growing up they were a buge status symbol: to have an unfashionable pair could bring ridicule. No wonder, then, that Foot Locker was looted, while more upmarket stores were simply burned to the ground. The goode may have been worth mote, but they had n0 relevance to the lives of young people: they brought no status, “Hostilcy owards the police was an important factor, too. Since the ‘ots, havespoken toa numberof young black men about their experi- ‘ences with the police. Like me, they have never been charged with an offence. Buc there was one major difference: while I have never been stopped and searched by the police, it was an experince they have all endured throughout their ives, One tld me that he was first stopped and searched at che age of twelve when he was on his way to buy mill {or hismother Sometimes th police offices were sympathetic, or even almost apologetic; tothe times dhey were aggressive or threatening. Some officers acted asifwe're the biguest gang around here'—aseni- ‘ment that copped up in interviews with conviced sites. Indeed, interviews with rioters conducted by the Reading the Riots study—a collaboration between the LSE, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and the Guardian —found that rioters identified ani-plice sentiment asthe biggest single cause ofthe unrest." ‘Of course, many ofthe rioters got involved because they saw an ‘opportunity to steal with impunity. For others, i wasa vicarious the, Aachanceo show offin front of ends, and wo be ablevo boast that they ‘were a part ofthe action. Some just go eaught up in a crowd, sensing that accepted social norms had temporarily been suspended. Others looked atthe shameless greed of the bankers and polidcians, fling that if those a the top could getaway with it why couldn't they? And there were others who fle frustrated, angry, disillusioned, or bored. ‘The specific motives varied from ease to case; for some, there was 2 combination of reasons. But what united the rioters and looters of EEngland’s hot August was there was not much for them to put at lack of faith ior outright antipathy towards—the local can predict whether there will beanew wave ofits. Butts the most drastic cuts since the 1920s willhave a devastating ‘Britain's social fabric. Growing aumbers of people (of all inevitably have amounting sense that there sa bleak furure those circumstances, anger and frastaton will surely only ‘unless it is organized and given political direction, it itself inthe ugliest of ways. year of turmoil across the globe: not last because of a dep- ici and the courage and determination of millions of sing up agunst the brutal, senile cyannies that ruled over new eraof unrest represented another shift taking place, one implications For my arguments. Chavis, in large pat, the legacy of defeat: thats, the consequences ofthe pound by the British labour movement and many working-class sin the 198s argued shat the demonizaton identified was ‘tiumphalism of the rich who, no longer challenged by hem, instead point and laugh at them’. But even as Chors this triumphalism was under aack. ‘end of 201], Tine magazine named "The Protester’ as its the Vea’ Indeed, whether it was uprisings against murderous mass demonsrations against austerity, the protest made one of comebacks since the 19 incladingin Britain, which expe- of demonstrations, occupations, and strikes. Although, ‘has been no sustained challenge to the positon of the thas once more ecome clear thatitis possible toresist. the new age of dissent arrived on 10 November 2010, ‘National Union of Stadents called a demonstration against trcbling of tition fees. Only 2,000 or so were expected the actual number on the day was around 52,000. Most of hhad taken to the street were newly politicized, and they found the experience of marching alongside young people both exil ting and empowering. A section of the demonstration occupied ‘Westminster's Millbank Tower, where the Conservative Party has offices. Although the scenes became the focus ofa self-righteous media ‘eagerto condemn violene’—even though there washaedly any—the Millbank occupation became a symbol of resistance for many radial- ‘zed young people. Despite the lack of support from the National Union of Students leadership, the following weeks saw a series of pro- tests, while dozens of occupations were staged at universities across the county, ‘Amid all the moral outrage and focus on smashed windows, the ‘media missed one ofthe most interesting elements ofthe protests. Many ‘of the most vocal, determined protesters were not middle-class st dens, but working-class teenagers who were furious atthe scrapping of the Educational Maintenance Allowance—means-ested government subventions given to those from poorer backgrounds to keep them in education. Many of ther fle that a government of millionaires was slamming the door in their faces. Previously they had been dismissed as, at est, an apathesic mass with few interests outside X-Factor and ‘Phones; and, ata worst, a socal threat that had to be contained. But haere they were: politically astute, indignant, and determined to make their long-jgnored voices heard. ‘The students did not top the government forcing the trebling of ‘witon fees through Parliament, but the myth of British passivity was shattered. Trade unions—sill drastically weakened and lacking in confidence—looked on atthe protesting students with more than 2 line interest. In the words of Len McCluskey, leader of Unite—the biggest rade union in the country—the students had put trade unions “on the spon 2011, the unions turn eae, ‘As austerity began biting into jobs and living standards, the trade ‘union movement called ‘on people to ‘March for the Altemative? on 26 March 2011. Ie was the biggest workers’ protest for over a generi- tion. Here was a cros-section of the modem British working class fof thousands strong, standing up to a government that was ern to pay fora criss they had no role in casing ‘marked the beginning of a new wave of tade-union “After assuming office, the Conservatve-led government so-called reforms to public sector pensions—'reforms

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