There’s a new working class in Britain that has evolved in the past 30 years, and so far politics have failed to effectively respond to this steadily changing tide. In her book, The New Working Class, Claire Ainsley proposes practical recommendations for political parties to reconnect with the electorate and regain trust.

In a conversation chaired by Anne-Marie Canning, Ainsley will be in discussion with writers Kate Fox and Sabrina Mahfouz, examining issues of class as it intersects with race and social mobility, and answering the questions: what does it mean to be working class today, and how can politics be more representative of this growing group?

About The Speakers

Claire Ainsley

Claire Ainsley is Executive Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and author of ‘The New Working Class: how to win hearts, mind and votes.’ At JRF, she leads the organisation’s strategy to inspire action and change to solve UK poverty. Prior to this, she worked in public affairs and communications in the public and voluntary sectors, and for the UK’s largest trade union.

 

Kate Fox

Kate Fox is an accomplished stand-up poet and performer. She has performed widely on BBC1, BBC2, and Radio4, including two series of her show, The Price of Happiness. She has been Poet in Residence for the Great North Run and Glastonbury Festival, ‘Where There’s Muck, There’s Bras’, remembers the lives of important and pioneering Northern women.

About The Host

Anne-Marie Canning

Anne-Marie Canning MBE is the Director of Social Mobility and Student Success at King’s College London. In 2018 she was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to higher education. Anne-Marie is also the independent chair of the Department for Education led Bradford Opportunity Area.