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Mind the Gap: The New Class Divide in Britain
 
 
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Mind the Gap: The New Class Divide in Britain (Paperback)

by Ferdinand Mount (Author) "At a society wedding a couple of years ago, a friend of mine wandering into the marquee for the reception was greeted by a cousin..." (more)
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  • This item: Mind the Gap: The New Class Divide in Britain by Ferdinand Mount

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Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Short Books, London; New edition edition (29 Sep 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1904977324
  • ISBN-13: 978-1904977322
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 122,430 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Synopsis

In this provacative and ruthlessly frank book Ferdinand Mount argues that there is a new class divide in Britain which is just as vicious and hard to get rid of as the old one. Through acute observation and vivid illustration, drawing on every aspect of life from soap operas, speech patterns and gardening to education and the distribution of wealth, he demolishes the illusion that we live in a classless society and shows how the worst-off in Britain today are more culturally deprived than their parents or grandparents. The author's solutions, like his explanations of what has gone wrong, are original, suprising and unsparing to intellectuals and politicians of all parties.
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At a society wedding a couple of years ago, a friend of mine wandering into the marquee for the reception was greeted by a cousin of his who took him aside and muttered conspiratorially into his ear, 'Mind the gap'. Read the first page
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Mind the Gap: The New Class Divide in Britain
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant and original book about growing inequality., 29 Sep 2005
This review is from: Mind the Gap: Class in Britain Now (Hardcover)
Ferdinand Mount believes that there is a growing gap between the rich and the poor in Britain.

The reasons for this are: economic policies that favour the rich; a welfare state which has infantilised the lower classes; strict planning laws that make land and housing unaffordable for the poor; and the contemptuous and paternalistic attidude that the rich in Britain have always had towards the poor.

I would agree with the previous reviewer that the author does romanticise the lower classes. However, I would not agree that this is a right wing polemic. Despite the fact that Mr Mount was once an advisor to Mrs. Thatcher, he is not a conventional Tory. He proposes education and health voucher schemes, and that the tax and benefits system be reformed to encourage marriage. He also proposes that the minimum wage should be increased, that only the better-off should pay taxes, that businesses should be owned by their workers and that some land should be transferred from wealthy landowners to the poor.

It's an informative and thought-provoking book. Not only did I read it in one sitting, but I found myself wanting to read more of many of the books Mr Mount quotes from. I would recommend it to anyone interested in politics.

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19 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Right wing analysis of working class culture, 23 Jan 2005
By Bobby Elliott (Erskine, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Mind the Gap: Class in Britain Now (Hardcover)
Ferdinand Mount has written an interesting and challenging book about working class culture. He argues persuasivly that class still counts and that "uppers" and "downers" still exist.

As his argument unfolded, it slowly dawned on me that I was reading a right-wing polemic on contemporary politics. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised given his background (he currently writes for The Times and has previously worked for a Conservative government).

I had a problem with his misty-eyed view of working class culture. He attacks left- and right-wing thinkers for patronising the working class but turns a blind-eye to the worst aspects of this culture. The book is also contradictory in parts. For example, he attacks Marx's view that there is no middle class (they will join one or other of the working or upper classes when the time comes) but he himself only describes two classes (downers and uppers).

Still, it was an interesting read and one that I can recommend.

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