An Island of Little Landlords
Britain’s young people no longer want to be doctors, lawyers, or engineers. They just want to collect rent.
9 Articles by: John Merrick
John Merrick is a London-based writer. He is currently working on his first book on class in contemporary Britain.
Jonathan Bowden Is a Fascist for Our Postliterate Age
Jonathan Bowden, who died 13 years ago today, is a cult figure on the international right. He self-published books and films, philosophized about white replacement in pubs, and fantasized about being a millionaire father while living alone in a trailer.
England’s North Has Been Crushed by Thatcherism and Austerity
Northern England spawned the industrial revolution as well as a powerful workers’ movement and a lively culture of popular modernism. But the dysfunctions of Britain’s economic and political system have reduced it to a shadow of its former self.
Queen Elizabeth II’s Reign Glamorized Britain’s Political Backwardness
During Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign, the UK witnessed immense social transformation. Throughout this tumultuous period, the monarchy served one purpose: suppressing Britain’s political divisions in the name of unity and deference to the Crown.
From Italian Factories to British Pizzerias
Working-class authors often write of alienation from hometown life after going to university and becoming professionals. Alberto Prunetti’s autobiographical novel instead tells us what it’s like to leave an Italian steel town only to find low-paid kitchen jobs in England.
Stop Painting Northern England as a Land of Reactionary Proles
Labour’s dismal polling for today’s Hartlepool by-election show its awkward, flag-waving nationalism isn’t convincing anyone. Too bad Keir Starmer won’t stop playing on the Right’s terrain and start offering working-class voters real economic populism.
Stop Trying to Make Us Worship the Royals
The last week has seen wall-to-wall praise for the royals across the British press, with Prince Philip painted as everything from a military genius to a trailblazing feminist. But the compulsory cap-doffing isn’t just a bit of ceremony inherited from the past — it’s part of a very modern deference to the wealthy and privileged.
Michael Apted’s Up, a Decades-Long Film on Britain’s Class System
The 1964 film Seven Up! asked 14 British seven-year-olds about their hopes of being the “shop steward and the executive of the year 2000.” Revisiting them every seven years for more than half a century, director Michael Apted made his interviewees into familiar faces — and shone a light on changing notions of class in Britain.
Mike Davis Tried to Warn Us About a Virus-Induced Apocalypse
Historian Mike Davis wrote a book fifteen years ago warning of the coming global pandemic. The “monster at our door” has finally stepped through that door in COVID-19, and unfortunately, Davis was proven correct.