London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 04, 2025

The real divide across Britain is class

The real divide across Britain is class

Coronavirus has highlighted deep class divisions across British society. But for the mainstream press in England, the divide is between the North and South.

Around two thirds of the population in the north and a fifth of the population in the Midlands face more stringent lockdown restrictions. Not a single area south of Birmingham is affected.

Leading figures in the Labour Party claim the Tories’ problem in dealing with the virus is a “London-centric” approach.

Andy Burnham, Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, has appointed himself spokesperson for the north. He is leading the charge of Labour mayors across northern cities against further lockdown restrictions without their consultation.

The Tories’ approach is inadequate, incompetent and driven by the interests of big business to keep profits flowing.

They had to be pressured to promise local furlough schemes in northern areas facing lockdown restrictions—yet these still leave thousands of workers at risk of redundancy. But Labour leaders’ objections start from “the economy”—not the need to suppress coronavirus.

Sacha Lord, Greater Manchester’s night time economy adviser, is heading up a group to challenge the government over its measures with a judicial review.

This is underpinned by a political strategy. Labour is trying to win back voters in the north—or at least hold onto the ones the party didn’t lose to the Tories at the last general election.

And mayors and council leaders hope to do this by showing they’re “standing up to Westminster”.

Divison


As coronavirus cases and hospitalisations rise across Britain, we need to assert that the real division is class. The Tories’ and bosses’ disregard for working class people’s health and lives is the same whether in London or Liverpool.

If you’re a frontline worker, having to catch public transport, go into an unsafe workplace or live in poor and overcrowded conditions, you are at greater risk of catching the virus.

These inequalities are compounded by systematic racism.

But the virus isn’t the only threat to working class people.

The Tories and bosses have made clear they will try to make workers pay for the coronavirus crisis with their livelihoods. This threat was underlined by the latest unemployment figures, which saw the rate jump by 4.5 percent.

In the face of the assault on working class people, we need strikes and protests that can unite workers against the government.

Resistance is not going to come from the Labour Party. Sir Keir Starmer continues to lick the nearest boot he can find to prove to the British state and business that he is responsible and respectable.

He is fond of saying that the Tories are “holding Britain back”. But it’s Starmer’s politics that holds our class back.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×