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You and Yours: 19/10/2010

19/10/2010

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, 19/10/2010

Call You and Yours with Julian Worricker - who are the middle-classes?

Phone in with Julian Worricker. Who are the middle-classes? Call 03700 100 444 (lines open at 10am on the day) or email youandyours@bbc.co.uk.

Call You and Yours with Julian Worricker. Tomorrow, after months of warnings, the UK's "age of austerity" will begin in earnest when the government announces the results of its Spending Review. It will give us the details of which government departments will need to cut their spending, and by how much. The headlines say it's the middle classes who're being squeezed by government spending cuts. They're the backbone of Britain, we're told - yet there's talk of middle-class benefits being taxed, means-tested or taken away. Recently David Cameron identified himself as a member of the 'sharp-elbowed middle classes' - yet many who consider themselves middle class wouldn't put themselves in the same bracket as the Prime Minister. Our notions of who or what constitutes the "middle class" have shifted radically in recent years : do we mean an average family; higher tax payers;those in a white collar job - or simply people who read books and keep their front gardens tidy ? Let us know what you think. Who are the middle classes?

An opportunity to contribute your views to the programme. Call 03700 100 444 (lines open at 10am on the day) or email youandyours@bbc.co.uk.

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19/10/2010

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