Mocking regional accents is last form of acceptable discrimination, says MP
Northumbrian MP Ian Lavery has claimed that mocking people with strong regional accents is the latest form of acceptable discrimination.
The Labor MP for Blyth and Ashington joined MPs in opposing those belittling people for the way they speak during a debate in Parliament.
Jo Platt, Labor MP for Leigh and Atherton, led a debate on regional accents and social mobility in Westminster Hall, explaining the pressure for people to change the way they speak to get ahead in life.
The row arose as Andy Burnham, who was born on Merseyside and raised in Culcheth, near Warrington, was about to become prime minister.
Burnham proposed a program of devolution that would include the creation of No 10 North, and MPs said the UK should also regain pride in its cultural depth of regional emphasis.
Lavery said his accent came from the coal mines and showed who he was, where he was from and who he represented, but stressed there was still a stigma from employers that strong accents were a barrier to working-class children.
“Many people struggle between maintaining the accent they are proud of and trying to put it aside and move on with their lives,” he said.
“This is not true; it is the last form of acceptable discrimination in this country and is absolutely ridiculous.”
He added: “What we suffer most from is social cues, the local dialect, where you are supposed to be in life because of who you are and the way you speak.”
Platt acknowledges that such accent biases can hold people back: “Our accents instantly point to a fundamental part of who we are the moment we open our mouths, long before we explain our politics, our profession, or our background.”
Platt said these barriers were not talked about enough, and as a working-class woman from Salford, she herself felt pressure to speak with a more neutral accent.
“I have to admit there was a time when I wondered if softening my accent would make me sound more trustworthy, more professional, more ‘Westminster’,” he said. “I worried that the way I spoke would limit my expectations, so I softened my accent.”
