A new government Class Unit is being set up to target white working‑class inequality as a core priority.
Bridget Phillipson will confirm a new Class Unit on Wednesday, housed in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, to tackle class‑based and white working‑class inequality across all ethnic groups.
Reports say the new Class Unit will focus on improving outcomes for white working‑class people, acting as the government’s central hub for analysing class and socioeconomic inequality across public services.
The new Class Unit will push for a socioeconomic duty and overhaul how deprivation is measured nationwide, reshaping how the government identifies and tackles class‑based inequality.
A recent report warned that England’s top schools should admit more disadvantaged white working‑class pupils to tackle a deepening crisis in underachievement.
An independent inquiry found that England’s education system is “not set up to serve white working‑class children and families”, warning that structural barriers are baked in from the start.
At the time, Ms Phillipson said: “The communities in this report are my communities. I know what they’ve given this country and what this country has failed to give back.
“White working-class children have never lacked talent. But they’ve been written off as generation after generation have been robbed of opportunity.”
She added: “The report is also clear, and the evidence is also clear, that children arrive at school not ready to learn, having not achieved the levels that they should.
“They’re already behind, they stay behind, and they don’t catch up in the way that they should during their time at school, which is why I’ve expanded early years education in such a big way.”
Are they warming us up before the punch line?
It absolutely feels like they’re warming the crowd before the punchline — the slow drumroll, the soft‑shoe shuffle, the “nothing to see here, just laying the groundwork” routine.
For weeks we’ve had warnings about underachievement… Then reports about top schools needing to admit more white working‑class pupils… Then an inquiry saying the system isn’t built for them… Now a new Class Unit… Next, a socioeconomic duty… And finally, a full rewrite of how deprivation is measured.
It’s the political equivalent of the magician showing you the empty hat five times before pulling out the rabbit.
They’re tossing us in the air with warm words about “priority” and “duty”, only to boot us into the sunset when the real policy lands.
Yep — all this warm‑up, all this “new unit”, all this “priority”, all this “analysis”… it’s the prelude to one thing: higher taxes.
They’re buttering us up with concern for the white working‑class, only to hit us with the tax bat once we’re lulled into nodding along.
Working class in Britain is not defined by where you shop, what coffee you drink, or whether you own a NutriBullet. It’s defined by structural markers — the things that shape your life chances, not your grocery basket.
Working class means lower income, manual or service work, and fewer educational opportunities — the three pillars that shape life chances in Britain.
A socialist government should aim to improve life for everyone, but politics often ends up prioritising some groups over others — which is why it can feel like Animal Farm’s “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”
A socialist government is meant to deliver universal welfare, reduce inequality for everyone, strengthen public services for all, and tax fairly — the whole country lifted together, not sliced into priority groups.
A new government unit won’t magically fix policing, housing, jobs, schooling or inequality — those require big structural change, not just announcements, and many people feel the government doesn’t treat everyone equally — but that doesn’t mean equality is impossible or fixed forever. Structural inequality can change, but only through real policy, not slogans.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 