Uncomfortably off

Media attention is often focused on the very richest, the 1%, and their capacity to influence politics and shape society. But they are not the only ones who drive politics, the public conversation and much of the private sector. The focus of this book is on the larger group between the 1% and the 10%. These are the managers and professionals of our media, business, the third sector, political parties and academia and are just as influential.

However, many would not recognise themselves as high earners at all. In fact, earning around £60,000 a year in Britain places you in the top 10% of income earners. Maybe you’re surprised you fall into this category, or are not as far off as you thought.

But despite this group’s relative advantage and comfort, these high earners don’t feel politically empowered. They worry about their income and are anxious about the future. Most of them are more likely to move down the income ladder than up it.

Drawing attention to this powerful section of society, this book explains why, even if you are relatively near the top, it is in your interest that inequality is reduced and you can help make that happen.

'Fascinating and telling insights into the situations and views of the top 10 per cent: an under-researched and in many ways invisible — yet politically significant — group.' — Professor the Baroness (Ruth) Lister of Burtersett

'A brilliant study in how understanding the fears, feelings and hopes of the best-off tenth of our societies helps explain why we hold so tightly to inequality.' — Danny Dorling, University of Oxford