The Likes of Us

"This book goes into quite brave territory. Collins argues that the white working class has become the only bit of society left that can be demonised by the liberal intelligentsia. This gives him the starting point for a history of the white working class, based very much on where he grew up – the Elephant and Castle district in south London . So the book is partly a history of the working class in that area and partly, as it moves towards the present, a family memoir which taps into his parents and grandparents. What struck me as very fresh about his argument is that he sees the white working class – previously seen as “the salt of the earth” – as having being destroyed by two key elements which were imposed on them without them having any say in the matter. The first was the re-development of their actual area with things like the slum clearance and the building of new estates – the physical environment of where the white working class lived changed out of all recognition. The other was mass immigration , which they had no say in either. This happened quite suddenly and was done by people who did not have to live with the consequences of their actions. Collins argues that the white working class who had this immigration imposed on them responded with remarkable tolerance and patience, which I think is broadly true. I think there is some truth to that – but then you could argue that the white working class has been neglected for a long time, and that education has been substandard so it is difficult for them as a group to get on. It is partly because the solid white working class was broken up for the two reasons we discussed. It is a very complicated question, but I think that did have an effect. This is a pioneering book going into an area where few people have gone."