From: hjkhjkhd@hhhh.com   
      
   Despite the changes, Orwell would still be at home in class-conscious   
   England   
   By Sally Pook   
   Telegraph   
   (Filed: 12/08/2006)   
      
   George Orwell once said England was the most class-ridden country under the   
   sun.   
   "It is a land of snobbery and privilege, ruled largely by the old and the   
   silly," he wrote.   
   The author, whose antipathy towards the class structure was deeply held, was   
   writing in 1941, in an essay entitled England Your England. His views now   
   might have waned only slightly.   
      
   The most useful markers to identify class are occupation, address, accent   
   and income, according to the poll. Wealth alone does not indicate class. The   
   magazine found that nearly half the people questioned believed they would be   
   better off than their parents.   
   But only a quarter expected to end up in a different class.   
   The rise of celebrity in Britain, where unknowns can become millionaires   
   after appearances on television talent shows, has created a "parallel   
   aristocracy". John Prideaux, the author of the report, says the study   
   confirms the impossibility of escaping one's class.   
   Two thirds of those questioned did not believe it was possible.   
   "Most people think it is quite hard to change class," he says.   
   "Two thirds of those we asked said they were born into a class and their   
   children will be born into the same class and there is not much they can do   
   about it. Perhaps it is something that takes a long time."   
   The poll also repeated a question asked by Gallup in 1949 and found that   
   when people were asked which class they belonged to they still answered   
   using many of the same categories.   
   Three things have blurred class boundaries over the past few decades.   
   Changes in the labour market mean there are fewer traditional working class   
   people.   
   Manual, farming and heavy industry workers have shrunk as a proportion of   
   the workforce.   
   Secondly, immigration has provided an influx of people who do not fit into   
   the old class structure.   
   And thirdly, barriers to fame have been lowered, the magazine says, creating   
   a celebrity class which would include David Beckham and his wife Victoria.   
   Mr Prideaux says England is no longer the most class-ridden country under   
   the sun. "But we are still obsessed with it," he says.   
   The YouGov poll canvassed 1,955 people between Aug 2 and 8.   
      
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