From Salt of the Earth to Scum on the Streets (Part 1)

Owen Jones interviewed by Samuel Grove for the New Left Project:

The idea that ‘we’re all middle-class now’ was embraced by both New Labour and the Tories alike. For the right, the exception to this was the so-called ‘underclass’, who were believed to be the product of state dependency and behavioural problems; for influential US right-winger Charles Murray, the break-down of marriage among lower income groups was the culprit. As well as being dehumanising (who would ever want to be labelled ‘underclass’?), it’s a ridiculous concept - are the rest of us part of an ‘overclass’?