New podcast series exploring the collapse of class voting in Britain

The Conversation UK are proud to announce the launch of a new podcast series, Know Your Place: What Happened to Class in British Politics, broadcasting from 7th October 2024, supported by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen). 

This five-part series, hosted by Laura Hood, Senior Politics Editor at The Conversation UK, delves into the shifting relationship between class and politics in the UK.

Over the past decade, assumptions about class and party politics have been shattered. And working-class communities are to be found voting left, right and hard right, or increasingly not at all. The series will explore the implications of this shift, examining how class still influences life outcomes, from education to job opportunities, even if it no longer dictates political preference.

Laura Hood will take listeners on a journey to understand how the political class divide has collapsed and what this could mean for future elections. Featuring insights from leading political experts, including Sir John Curtice, Tim Bale, Rosie Campbell, Paula Surridge, Oliver Heath, and current and former Labour MPs Jeevun Sander and Reg Race, Know Your Place offers fresh perspectives on the evolving landscape of British politics.

Laura Hood, Senior Politics Editor at The Conversation commented: “Class is still a big part of British life, but it no longer predicts the way we vote. I wanted to find out if it has really disappeared from our politics or if something else was going on. The picture has turned out to be a lot more complicated than I imagined.”

Supported by NatCen, the UK’s largest independent social research organisation, the podcast aims to provide a nuanced look at how class and politics intersect today. It will be released as part of The Conversation Documentaries (formerly The Anthill) podcast feed, which is known for offering in-depth explorations of complex political, historical, and scientific topics.

Notes to editors: 

• The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) is a registered charity and is the largest independent social research organisation in the UK. It was founded in 1969 by Sir Roger Jowell and Gerald Hoinville with the aim of carrying out rigorous social policy research to improve society (www.natcen.ac.uk).
• The Conversation is a non-profit independent news website where professional journalists work with academics and researchers to help them share their expertise with a broad, international, non-specialist audience (www.theconversation.com/uk).
• A trailer for the series is now available: https://theconversation.com/know-your-place-what-happened-to-class-in-british-politics-a-new-podcast-series-from-the-conversation-documentaries-239451. 
• An embargoed version of the first episode is also available on request for reviewers.
• Laura Hood, Senior Politics Editor and Assistant Editor at The Conversation UK. Laura joined The Conversation in 2013 and has covered every major political event in Britain ever since, from Brexit to the chaos of the Boris Johnson years.  Laura is available as an interview guest to speak about the themes emerging from the series.