Who benefits from deflecting away from material issues during the biggest living cost crisis in a generation? As recent events in Scotland underline, pushing aggressively for policies such as the gender recognition reform bill (which, by December, only one in five voters supported and thought the Westminster government was wrong to block) can seriously backfire and have far-reaching consequences. Although it has been passionately praised and criticised across mainstream and social media, one shortcoming of most reactions has been to treat the book as a scholarly work. Just a shame that he's tried to cram them into a flawed framework, that he's lost some of his scholarly credibility, and that he's suffering from such a severe case of the 'confirmation bias' that he rails against when he sees it elsewhere. a new centre ground of British politics is being formed - even if both parties have yet to fully comprehend it' The TimesWhat has caused the recent seismic changes in British politics, including Brexit and a series of populist revolts against the elite?

Values, Voice and Virtue by Matthew Goodwin | Waterstones Values, Voice and Virtue by Matthew Goodwin | Waterstones

This new elite, according to Goodwin, has captured the country’s key economic, political and cultural institutions. Goodwin’s argumentation bears another contradiction: if the new elite imposes its progressive values on the rest of society, was that not the case also with the old elite and its traditionalist values? assumes you do and pitches us straight into an aircraft hangar full of blinking new recruits, somewhere in Britain. It doesn't take a genius to work out that all of these three elements, particularly the first two, were present among British elites for most of the twentieth century. And yet, based on their reaction over the past week, many members of the New Elite clearly do think this about my argument.There’s enough worthwhile stuff to ensure that fans will be happy – you can overlook its shortcomings while the title track rages – and that touring won’t seem entirely like an exercise in running through the back catalogue. So if you’re a rich, prestigiously educated Londoner but you don’t like footballers taking the knee, you’re probably not part of this “new governing class”. Goodwin reveals why these uniquely powerful cultural divides are allowing the right to flourish as the left flounders, and argues that this imbalance has shifted British politics into an entirely new phase. They have more to do with the neoliberal, right-wing policymaking that has shaped British society over the past few decades. Indeed, the latest report of the British Social Attitudes survey, cited throughout the book, actually shows more people displaying progressive views on several cultural issues, such as immigration.

Values, Voice and Virtue A review of Matt Goodwin’s Values, Voice and Virtue

There are several premises in Goodwin’s argumentation that, albeit not original, one would struggle to disagree with. Goodwin starts with a contention that would not hear much opposition from the left: there is a group of people from privileged family backgrounds, many educated at Oxbridge or Russell Group universities, who hold socially liberal views and mostly associate with others who feel the same, probably in London.Members of the New Elite really do hold enormous influence over the national conversation – by defining concepts, determining speech codes, shaping social norms, prioritising voices and determining which values are considered legitimate. The argument starts to be more controversial where Goodwin locates its roots: as a manifestation of a deeply held progressive hatred of British identity and loathing for the “morally inferior masses”. A very readable and interesting assessment of the changing relationship between our politicians, the changing nature of political orthodoxy and how we are being governed. When Two Tribes go to war: How should universities respond to the criticisms of wokeness from Matthew Goodwin and others?