18 h. ago Furious neighbourhood row on 'nice middle class estate' over new 'prison wall'

A homeowner raged his neighbours' complaints about his wall were 'nonsense' - some residents even slammed the local council and claimed the controversial wall shouldn't have been given planning permission

Events

69 h. ago Yes, I have just done a naked forward roll. But there was a good reason | Adrian Chiles

There I was, lying in bed and worrying I’d lost a basic life skill. Can you blame me for putting it to the test?When I was in the first year at middle school, in Miss Hale’s class, my parents returned from a parents’ evening looking disappointed. My nine-year-old self picked up on this. It wasn’t my schoolwork: that was OK. It was that the teacher had revealed that in PE I was the only one in the class who couldn’t do a forward roll.This was true. It wasn’t that I was physically incapable – I was in the school football team and, without wishing to boast, probably the ninth-quickest runner. I just had this mental block. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. The idea of the world momentarily going upside down was too much for me. The prospect of such disorientation was unbearable. If only Miss Hale had taken me to one side and said: “Look, you’re overthinking this – and, believe you me, if you let it, overthinking will blight your life.” But she didn’t, because teachers didn’t talk like t...

Events

3 d. ago The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits review – a quietly brilliant midlife roadtrip

Once your kids are at university, what’s next for you? This compelling depiction of life at a crossroads is a male counterpart to Miranda July’s All FoursBen Markovits’s quietly excellent new novel begins with the most mundane of middle-class crises. The book’s narrator, 55-year-old law professor Tom Layward, is taking his youngest child to university. For Tom and his wife Amy, the major tasks of parenting are about to vanish in the rear view mirror. The question is: what’s next?It’s a moment of change and re-evaluation for any couple. But within Tom and Amy’s marriage an unexploded bomb is ticking. Tom tells us in the first paragraph that, 12 years earlier, Amy had an affair. He managed his heartbreak by making a deal with himself that he would leave when his youngest went to college. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago My life in class limbo: am I working class or insufferably bourgeois?

I have two degrees, two books to my name and I write for the Guardian. Yet I spent time in care, live at home and struggle for money. Can Karl Marx help me make sense of myself?I have been obsessed with and confused by social class all my life. Both of my grandparents grew up in Liverpool in the 1930s in traditionally working-class households. They were clever and conscientious and managed to earn scholarships to university, eventually becoming teachers. My parents have university degrees and own property; one of them is now a judge. To most people, all these things place me squarely and categorically in the middle class. But I was in special educational schools from the age of nine, spent part of my childhood in care, left education altogether at 14 and collected the dole until getting my first job in a cotton mill. All these things make me a dyed-in-the-wool prole.And yet I have two degrees, I have written two books and I freelance for the Guardian – you can’t get m...

Politics

9 d. ago Best of Mumsnet REVEALED: From why a husband eating a Pot Noodle was so revolting to odd nickname for sex

Nothing reveals what really irritates middle-class mums quite like Mumsnet.

Politics

1 week ago The VERY middle class parents of punk girl band who sing 'Filthy Rich Nepo Baby', rant against the rich and are embarrased to be English

A British punk band given taxpayer cash despite saying it is 'embarrassing to be from England' also enjoyed leg-ups from their very middle class parents while railing against 'Nepo babies', it can be revealed.

Politics

2 w. ago Sanders and AOC tell packed arena Trump is ‘screwing over’ working class

Progressive political stars say president and billionaire Elon Musk are turning US into oligarchy at rally in ArizonaBernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivered a scathing rebuke of Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk at a huge rally in Arizona on Thursday, accusing them of “screwing over” working- and middle-class Americans as they turn the country into an oligarchy.Speaking to an overflowing arena as part of his Stop Oligarchy tour – a series of events with the progressive New York congresswoman that has attracted huge attention among Democratic supporters disillusioned with what they feel is the party’s otherwise tepid reaction to Trump’s radical agenda – Sanders, the senator from Vermont, warned the president: Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago The hidden signs in your home that prove you're 'middle class'

Two-storey homes, fridges with water dispensers, three-ply toilet paper and fresh fruits are among the subtle signs of middle class wealth, according to people from lower-income backgrounds.

Politics

2 w. ago Is YOUR son a ticking timebomb? From not letting you see his phone to being rude to his mother, expert reveals signs to watch for

There is a misconception that only neglected boys in gangs are vulnerable, but I am convinced even the most privileged middle-class children can be affected. So how can you tell if your son is at risk?

Events

3 w. ago Record five million forced to pay higher rate tax: Fury as Rachel Reeves' stealth tax raid punishes middle class strivers

Shocking official figures showed that an extra 680,000 workers were dragged into the 40 per cent tax bracket compared to a year earlier.

Economics

3 w. ago The US Postal Service helped build the Black middle class. Trump could end that legacy

Trump is expected to privatize the USPS, where Black people make up 29% of the staff, and cut down on the number of jobsIn recent weeks, the fate of the United States Postal Service (USPS), a revered and vital public institution, has been uncertain. Since the start of his second presidency, Donald Trump has launched major changes to the federal government. Along with billionaire Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge), the president has carried out widespread layoffs at agencies such as the Small Business Administration and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, with the purported goal of cutting costs and boosting efficiency. Now, Trump is turning his focus to the post office, an agency he has long been critical of and one that he may be privatizing.In addition to delivering upwards of 343.5m pieces of mail and packages a day, the post office is responsible for administering official government forms such as passport applications, and providing banking...

Politics

3 w. ago Nature reserve vandalists steal expensive flowers and logs 'for their trendy middle class wood burners'

Volunteers at a community garden in New Milton, Hants, are up in arms after snowdrop flowers and logs had been stolen by a green-fingered thief.

Events