SOCIAL CLEAVAGES
Political
Regional
Religious
LITTLE TO NONE
Religious cleavages are not particularly noticeable in the UK because most of the population is either Christian or unaffiliated with any religion. Although there is a small Islamic and Hindu population, there is little dissent between the religions. |
Racial
Class
UPPER, LOWER, AND MIDDLE
Class cleavages in the UK, like in many other places in the world, occur between the upper, middle, and lower classes. Socioeconomic classes in the UK can often be distinguised by their respective accents; the London Cockney accent, for example, is intentionally unintelligible to those not part of that particular society, especially to the upper class. Although most historical conflicts occurred between the upper and lower classes, most notably those associated with the rise of capitalism and industrialization, more recent conflicts show that the gap between middle and lower classes is widening. In the 2011 England Riots, also known as the BlackBerry Riots, thousands of youths protested across England. The riots began with the police shooting of Mark Duggan, but many experts believe that the riots were largely due to unrest resulting from high unemployment and pay cuts.
Class cleavages in the UK, like in many other places in the world, occur between the upper, middle, and lower classes. Socioeconomic classes in the UK can often be distinguised by their respective accents; the London Cockney accent, for example, is intentionally unintelligible to those not part of that particular society, especially to the upper class. Although most historical conflicts occurred between the upper and lower classes, most notably those associated with the rise of capitalism and industrialization, more recent conflicts show that the gap between middle and lower classes is widening. In the 2011 England Riots, also known as the BlackBerry Riots, thousands of youths protested across England. The riots began with the police shooting of Mark Duggan, but many experts believe that the riots were largely due to unrest resulting from high unemployment and pay cuts.
Ethnic
ENGLISH, SCOTTISH, IRISH, AND WELSH
The major ethnic cleavages in the UK originated from regional conflicts, such as those between England and Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Although the four regions eventually joined into one (Scotland and England via the Acts of Union 1706-1707; Ireland and Great Britain in 1784), the people of each region still identify themselves as coming from their respective areas – they are not British, but rather Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and English. |
Gender (Sex)
MALE AND FEMALE
As a liberal democratic society, the UK has little in the way of gender cleavages in society. In the government, however, gender cleavages become an issue. There is a notable disparity between the amount of male and female representatives in Parliament, but there are no major conflicts between genders in the general society of the UK. Feminist groups still exist in the UK and they still protest for more female rights (such as Pauline Campbell's protest outside HM Prisons Brockhill to raise public awareness about the alarming death toll of women in prisons and the march in Northern Ireland regarding the funding crisis facing the Northern Ireland women's voluntary and community sector), but the cleavage isn't that apparent, as gender equality issues are not a major issue in the UK. The UK government has been receptive to the protests and marches regarding gender equality by passing acts such as the Sex Discrimination (Electoral Candidates) Act in 2002, which aimed to reduce the inequality in the number of men and women elected to be members of Parliament. In the history of the UK, however, the gender equality movement has not always been as successful as it is now. Women only really started gaining equal rights to men in the late twentieth century. The first major piece of legislation addressing this issue was the Equal Pay Act in 1970. The act was followed by several more laws, listed below: 1970: Equal Pay Act 1975: Sex Discrimination Act 1975: Maternity Leave and Pay Regulations 2000: Part-Time Workers Regulations 2003: Flexible Working Regulations Governmental organizations involved in solving gender equality issues include the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Joint Committee on Human Rights, and the Women and Equality Unit. |
Cross-Cutting
GENDER AND POLITICAL
Gender and political cleavages can often lead to positive change, as shown by the graph below. The awareness of a disparity in pay between men and women led to legislation that decreased the gap, eg. the Equal Pay Act in 1970 and the Sex Discrimination Act in 1975. |
Coinciding
REGIONAL AND POLITICAL
The current conflict between Scotland and England is reaching alarming levels. With a narrow vote of 45:55 against independence, a large portion of Scotland’s population is extremely unhappy with the results. Violent protests have sprung out across Scotland, forcing police to be dispatched to break the riots apart. The dissent between the two regions because of a political decision is a perfect example of a coinciding cleavage. |
Political Participation
Similar to the other five core countries, the main forms of political participation in the United Kingdom are voting and protesting. In the United Kingdom, the main societal cleavages are class cleavage, ethnic cleavage, political cleavage, and regional cleavage. In order to make a difference in the political sphere, the public voices its opinion through marches, petitions, and other forms of protest. In response, the government actually actively reforms its governance in an attempt to please its people. It places high emphasis and importance on civil society, keeping the people’s needs first. The UK has been trying to improve direct democracy and increase voter turnouts in elections by not only introducing new voting systems, but also by constantly reforming the ways in which they process petitions. At the same time, the government protects its British citizens’ right to protest through the Human Rights Act in 1998. The government enforces several rules in an attempt to create a more participatory democracy especially at the local level such as the new cooperation between the Secretary of State for Communities and the Local Government Association to establish an agreement on the rights and responsibilities of the local government and central government.
In terms of regional cleavage, Parliament recently responded to the Scots’ plea for independence by calling for a referendum and allowing the Scots to decide for themselves whether or not they want to become independent. In terms of the gender cleavage in the electorate and MP, Parliament has been actively passing laws such as the Sex Determination Act of 2002, which attempts to eliminate unequal gender representation in the government. By placing high importance on its people’s opinions, the UK actively attempts to eliminate the cleavages that it has. However, recent election voting turnouts have been increasingly low in comparison to the past with the most recent 2010 election having only around a 60% turnout rate, which heavily influences the political participation of the country as a whole. Research has shown that the younger generation in the United Kingdom has been refraining from voting as a result of a lack of belief in the government. As a result, political participation in the United Kingdom hasn’t been as active as it used to be. |
Helpful Resources
- https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/228834/7170.pdf
- http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/01/23145406/6
- https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uk.html
- http://www.mmu.ac.uk/equality-and-diversity/doc/gender-equality-timeline.pdf
- http://www.historyandpolicy.org/policy-papers/papers/unequal-britain-equalities-in-britain-since-1945
- http://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/dec/05/income-inequality-growing-faster-uk
- http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120919132719/http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/pdf/2056233.pdf