Corbyn / BBC declare social class of employees?

so agree janeainsworth.

It was miners in South Wales paying their GP weekly even when the family were in good health so they could meet doctors fees when illness struck that inspired Ny Bevan to bring in the NHS He and his father were miners in South Wales.

@ Elegran (a bit late in the day) -
Also Aneurin Bevin, son of a coalminer., and head of his Miners Lodge at the age of 19. Tredegar Iron and Coal company.

Cameron was criticised for having entered politics through the political researcher route, although he did work in the media for a few years before standing as MP.

I think it is good that we have a number of MPs who have entered politics after working at what some may call 'proper jobs', eg mining, medicine, industry and even a drummer in a rock band.

janeainsworth could you try not to take the things I say out of context. I didn't introduce miners I was posting about how nepotism is responsible for some people having jobs in the media and politics, Annie drew a parrallel between this and families working as miners. I therefore said "Miners don't make laws" . Of course there have been miners who became politicians, and as such made laws. But it's not a common occurence and has become less common.And certainly I don't think they have political families. Politics is now filled with people who enter through the political researcher path and those who come through family influence.
And actually I'm not sure about the Benn family. I had huge respect for Tony Benn and his principles, but should his children have places in politics? Well perhaps not. Is it a good idea that people from other professions become politicians? Of course it is. And if the search for political candidates was widened perhaps we would see more ethnic minorities and more women in parliament.

And people in the media do not make laws trisha, when I spoke of miners it was an example of people following previous generations of their families.

I want the best people for MP’s not x no of ethnic minorities, x no of females, x no of males, x no of LGBT

That seems to me to imply that the numbers of ethnic minorities and females entering politics are disproportionately low because they are not "the best". Or could it be that there are systemic reasons for their lack of representation which should be addressed, as they are in other progressive countries?

I had huge respect for Tony Benn and his principles, but should his children have places in politics? Well perhaps not
interesting

I think if politics is imbued in you from an early age and you would make a good politician, believing in what you want to achieve for others - and people want to vote for you - then yes.

trisher nepotism gets people jobs from the bottom of society to the top, the tradesman who gives a mates son a chance to work with him, the friend who provides a reference.

There is very little difference in how societies work from end to end, this is why all is rabbiting on about class is so ridiculous.

i had huge respect for Tony Benn and his principles
You might not have done if you walked along the sea all on the Blackwater river where his house is/was.
He blocked off a mile of sea wall so the riffraff couldn't look into his garden.
If the tide was out you were ok, you could walk on the 'beach', if not, you had a long detour around Stansgate Manor, the family home.
It's all documented.

janeainsworth could you try not to take the things I say out of context. I didn't introduce miners I was posting about how nepotism is responsible for some people having jobs in the media and politics

That’s pretty good coming from someone who wrote on the previous page

Isn't it funny how arguments are conducted on GN. The main idea being to distract or derail a thread when actually you can't disprove or really disagree with it

Going back to the start of this topic, JC wants to make media hubs like the BBC more diverse as he believes it is in the hands of a narrow middle class clique.

This weekend DD and I have been discussing the subject. She has worked in the media for over 20 years, nearly 10 years with the BBC and longer with a company associated with the BBC.

She says that the problem with the narrowness of the social mix in the upper echelons of the BBC - and other media-, is not a problem of class, but of money.

The factor that limits entry to the key sectors of the media is the poisonous system of Internships. Six month/1 year unpaid or very poorly paid 'work experience' contracts.

Unless an intern has wealthy parents who can afford to subsidise them through one, two or even three internships, then their chance of getting a properly paid job and developing a career in the media is very small.

DD made her way in because she was a 'techie', she designed and edited websites, so wasn't looking for a frontline media role. She would have liked a career on the creative side, and was offered internships, but we were not in a position to subsidise her.

Money is not a class thing. There are plenty of wealthy people about who started their working lives as mechanics, plasterers or factory workers but made good.

As I have said, ad nauseum, 'class' is all about Labour's antediluvian attitudes. Its money that counts and the two do not necessarily go together.

I think you have explained perfectly MOnica

So do you not think M0nica that someone who has paid for their child to attend private school and subsidised tham through university (so they didn't have to work but would be able to spend their time doing little projects to add to their CV) won't then be the people supporting their child through an internship? And it isnt just money you need, you need to know the right people. Very few people have the wealth needed to see their child through all of these things and the connections to pursue them.
And if you want personal stories someone doing temp work at a mainstream paper was asked how she got the job when she talked about her previous experience the comment was made "Oh so you know what you're doing and not just someone high up."

Isn't that what Monica just said? That it "is not a problem of class, but of money"^ If the internships were paid ones, young people whose parents can't afford to bankroll them would get a lookin at the bottom of the ladder.

Connections? - ah, but suppose you are a friend of a plasterer and he takes on your son for his week's unpaid "work experience" where he discovers that he likes the work and they get on well together, so when the plasterer needs an employee your son applies and is taken on. You can't legislate to stop people moving in whatever social circles they want.

I have said I have been sorting through applications for apprenticeships, my brother ,it’s his firm, phoned me and said he wanted a family friends grandson to be given an apprenticeship so i had to remove another youngster off the list. Years ago my brother decided not to go to university but take an apprenticeship in the building trade, my parents were disappointed but supported him, my father had a word with the boss of a local firm and my brother got his apprenticeship, he had every intention of one day having his own firm, which he did and has been very successful, due to my father asking a friend to give him that apprenticeship

I agree M0nica
and Elegran

Often those who have family living in London have a better chance of getting on to the bottom rung of the ladder in tv etc because they can continue to live at home, pay no rent and subsist on the very low salaries which seem to be the norm.

so they didn't have to work but would be able to spend their time doing little projects to add to their CV

My DD managed to take on little projects which went on her CV as well as doing a degree, working part-time - from which part-time work she was offered a very interesting career (which she did not follow up, but the opportunity was there).

Do people not understand (and I know I'm going to get lot's of posts about plasterers who became MPs!!!!) that this is the mainstream media we are talking about. Not local jobs, but news which is relayed into our homes everyday. And the only way to ensure that there is propery balanced news is to ensure that the people recruited come from all walks of life (much like MPs used to.)

And the way to ensure that people from all walks of life apply for internships is to pay the interns. Then the youngsters who want to try it out from the very bottom of the ladder can do so on that level playing field we are all so keen on.

How on earth do these organisations get away with free labour anyway? If a hairdresser takes on a Saturday girl to wash hair and sweep floors, they expect to pay her for her time. No wonder the press barons are multimillionaires.

Yes, I understand.

I mentioned London, but of course, much comes from Salford nowadays.
We don't live there either.

As trisher says, the point being made is that people in influential senior positions, such as those in the media, law, politics etc., have a huge amount of power over other people's lives.

Obtaining, for instance, a trade apprenticeship does not confer such power or influence. Builders, plumbers, electricians, etc., do not decide which stories are going to be covered in the newspapers or on the TV news, and how they will be presented. They do not decide which potentially controversial documentary or exposé brought to them by independent film makers will be accepted for broadcast. If the people responsible for these sorts of decisions come primarily from a very narrow range of society, there is a real possibility that the decisions they make are influenced by their own experience, views and values and do not reflect wider society.

I have asked
" What lies behind having to declare your Social Status to so called be ' transparent' . To be ' transparent ' then why not have to declare your political allegiances, your race, your sexual orientation, wealth etc ?

If you believe Corbyn/Labour Party are right then what would you do about knowing the Social Class of somebody?

Questions nobody has answered to my knowledge and I am genuinely interested why Social Class is deemed as being the criteria for the purpose of ' transparency ' above others.

Having taken on board all comments I remain of the opinion this is nothing short of the old divide and rule , class warfare bigotry of the old days of Militant et al.

If it is for the purpose of 'Inclusion' then I'm sorry this is the road to ' Exclusion ' and who will be the judge and jury, politicians ? The Free press is already under threat from those who are promoting this class warfare and thereby hangs another tale.

Who will be the Saints and the Sinners of the media? Who will decide ? I find the guise of the need to know a persons Social Class for supposed ' transparency' nothing more than a dangerous slippery road to Social Engineering and history tells us where things can quietly end up.

First they came for -
Then they came for me.

trisher/Eloethan

What Social Class would you put David Attenborough in?

If the people responsible for these sorts of decisions come primarily from a very narrow range of society, there is a real possibility that the decisions they make are influenced by their own experience, views and values and do not reflect wider society.

It is a non-sequitur. If social class influenced political leanings then there would be no rich Labour MPs or members of Momentum, many of whom did and still do come from privileged backgrounds.

Perhaps the fact that the present DG of the BBC is the son of a banker is the problem.

But he did come from Birkenhead, not the south-east which should count in his favour.

What difference does it make to reporting the news depend on a persons family background ?

Elegran is so right, it is the old class warfare bigotry raising it’s head yet again.