Keir Starmer and the Death of the Working Class
“Working People” – A Phrase That Means Nothing
You hear it every week now. Sir Keir Starmer, suited and serious, telling Britain how Labour is “the party of working people.”
Working people.
Not the working class.
Not workers.
Not the people Labour was built for.
Just “working people.”
It sounds clean, safe, inclusive. But dig a little deeper, and you find a phrase designed to say nothing at all.
The Difference Between Working People and Working Class
“Working people” includes:
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Bank managers on £95k
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Junior doctors
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Marketing directors
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Retail assistants
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Call centre staff
Anyone with a job.
But Labour was created for the working class – people with no economic power, no boardroom seats, no leveraged assets, and no job security.
Labour existed to fight for workers’ dignity, pay, rights, and equality, not just for anyone with a payslip.
Why Is Starmer Saying It?
Because “working class” carries baggage:
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Trade union pickets
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Miners striking
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Demands for redistribution
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Class war rhetoric
“Working people” is managerial. It avoids socialism. It sounds inclusive to middle earners. It won’t scare off small business owners in marginal seats.
But it betrays Labour’s soul.
The Party’s Original Purpose
At its founding in 1900, Labour emerged to say:
“We will speak for ourselves. Not through lords, bishops, or wealthy liberals – but through our own representatives who know what it’s like to clock in and out.”
That was radical.
That was honest.
That was working class politics.
Today, “working people” is a HR-friendly phrase, like something slipped into a staff newsletter reminding you Friday is dress-down day.
Does This Really Matter?
Yes. Because language shapes policy.
If Labour sees itself as representing “working people,” its focus becomes:
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Tax breaks for median earners
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Job creation schemes
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Middle-class professional votes
If Labour sees itself as representing the working class, its focus becomes:
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Strengthening unions
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Ending zero-hours contracts
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Building social housing
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Raising wages
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Redistributing wealth to balance power
One is about managing the system.
The other is about changing it.
Starmer’s Real Gamble
Starmer is betting that:
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Working-class voters have nowhere else to go
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Voters hate the Tories enough to back Labour anyway
He’s probably right for now. But long-term, Labour risks becoming irrelevant to those it was built to serve.
If Labour Abandons the Working Class, Who Fills That Void?
Populists. Nationalists. The far-right. Parties like Reform UK.
If people are told class doesn’t matter, they cling to cultural and nationalist identities instead. That’s how societies fracture.
What Should Starmer Do Instead?
If I were advising him:
✅ Say “working class” proudly
✅ Deliver on transformative policies
✅ Protect union rights
✅ Build social housing
✅ End precarious work
Working-class voters aren’t stupid. They want dignity, not slogans.
Why This Matters in 2025
Britain is fraying:
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NHS in crisis
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Housing unaffordable
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Wages stagnant
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Bills crushing family budgets
And they hear Starmer say:
“Labour is the party of working people.”
They wonder:
“Does he mean me? Does he even know what I face each day?”
In the End: Words vs Reality
This isn’t semantics. It’s about who politics is for.
Is it for:
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The comfortable middle classes, sipping craft beer in London co-working spaces?
Or for:
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Cleaners, carers, shelf-stackers, delivery drivers – the people whose work keeps this country running while their dignity is denied?
If Starmer thinks “working people” is enough, he’s wrong.
Because working people are not just people with jobs. They are the people whose work is exploited, underpaid, and undervalued.
They built Labour.
They built Britain.
They deserve a party that remembers them.
