Britain’s Establishment exposed as dramatically Left-wing in landmark | UK | News
Britain’s establishment is left-leaning, a groundbreaking study examining its views on politics, freedom of expression, empire and racism has found.
Drawing on interviews with 2,295 members of the body, ranging from civil servants to academics, judges, medical professionals and the military, the explosive study finds that they are more likely to vote for left-of-centre parties, support remaining in the EU and question whether capitalism is best for society.
Those in positions of power are more likely to be ashamed of Britain’s imperial past, to believe that free speech can harm minorities and harm society, and to think racism is a big problem in Britain. The news comes at a time when this latest espionage bombshell in China could spell the end of Keir Starmer.
Farage has broken away from the establishment
Responding to the findings, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “The Establishment is more in touch with the country than ever before and needs wholesale reform.”
This damning research was conducted by Choice Account and Discover Now companies. Participants were divided into three subgroups: the “lecturing” class, consisting of academics, teachers, and cultural and media workers; the “professional” class, which includes civil servants, lawyers, judges, and paramedics; and the “security” class, consisting of police and members of the Armed Forces.
Three quarters support left-wing parties
Three-quarters (75 percent) of the establishment voted for left-of-center parties, compared to 54 percent of the general public.
For the teaching class of teachers, academics, and cultural workers, this rate jumped to 81 percent; professionals were also more Left-wing than the general public. However, the security class was more right-wing.
Two thirds want to stay in the EU
Two-thirds of organizations expressing their views on Brexit said they voted to remain in the EU. This proportion jumped to three-quarters in teaching classes. This compares with 48 per cent of the public who support remaining in the EU.
More than a third are ashamed of their imperial past
More than a third (37 per cent) of the organisation’s members agree that Britain and other Western countries should be ashamed of their imperial past.
While this number rose to 44 percent among faculty members, this rate was only 27 percent among the general public and only 3 percent among the police and military.
Nearly half say freedom of expression harms society
Almost half (46 percent) of the establishment said freedom of expression is often used to harm minorities and harm society; This rate increased to 55 percent among lecturers and 44 percent among professional groups.
However, 39 percent of the public believe this is the case.
Only 15 percent support capitalism
Less than a sixth (15 percent) of the public believed capitalism was the best way to create a functioning society, compared to 22 percent of the public.
Two-thirds of the establishment (66 per cent) believe racism in Britain is a major problem for society, compared with 52 per cent of the public. This rate increased to 71 percent in teaching classes.
Almost half want more ethnic minority support
Almost half (47 per cent) of the establishment believed more should be done to support members from ethnic minority groups, compared to 30 per cent among the general public. This rate increased to 61 percent in teaching classes.
More than a third (35 percent) of the organization believed that people who identified as women were women, and this proportion rose to 39 percent among lecturers.
This rate was compared to only 25 percent of those who agreed with this view in the general public and 57 percent of those who did not.
No longer a lowercase ‘c’ conservative group
The researchers weighted the data to calculate how far to the Left each group was, taking zero degrees as the national center.
Their findings showed that when comparing political leanings, Britain’s establishment lies to the left of the general public, on average 20 degrees to the left of the national centre.
Among those surveyed, the teaching class – teachers, professors and cultural workers – lean 32 degrees Left of the general population, putting them well ahead of the average voter and matching the position of Labor voters at last year’s general election, who sat 33 degrees Left of centre.
“In other words, the lecturer class has political attitudes similar to those you would expect if the class recruited only Labor voters,” the report said.
Major change in organizational policies
Martin Baxter, chief executive of the Electoral Account, said the findings suggested a major political shift in the establishment, adding: “Our research into the establishment shows that they are no longer the small ‘c’ conservative group of old and are now on the progressive left of British society.
“Those in teaching and the media in particular are significantly left of centre, politically. If Reformation UK is to form a government, expect some sparks to fly as the establishment intelligentsia reacts to ideas far from their ideological centres.”
