Labour classifies train drivers as working class despite high salaries
Labour ministers have categorized train drivers as “working class” even if their salaries reach £80,000, a decision that has sparked controversy. The government announced that a civil service internship scheme limiting applicants to those from “low socio-economic backgrounds” will include children of these well-paid workers, reports BritPanorama.
In contrast, children of police and prison officers who earn less than train drivers will be excluded from the scheme because they are considered “middle class” by Labour officials. This classification follows a recent agreement between the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and Transport for London, which aims to increase Tube drivers’ salaries to nearly £80,000 by 2027, along with similar deals negotiated with LNER.
Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Alex Burghart criticized the government, describing their policy as “incoherent, unfair and arbitrary.” He stated, “Children of working people face active discrimination in public life because of their parents’ occupation.”
Mike Wood, the shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, echoed these sentiments, suggesting that leader Keir Starmer’s strategies expose a disconnect from the working class, stating, “His vindictive crusade against middle England has exposed that he’s never been working class.”
This initiative was first announced in August as part of a strategy to increase diversity within the civil service, ensuring it better reflects the nation’s demographics. Eligibility for the scheme will hinge on the jobs held by applicants’ parents when they were aged 14. Then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, emphasized the need for more working-class representation in the civil service “to harness the broadest range of talent.”
The implications of these classifications raise significant questions about social mobility and access to opportunities based on perceived class divisions in contemporary Britain.
