Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Why do progressives seem to hate the working class? Speeches Battle of Ideas Festival
#workingclassvoices
#progressivepolitics
#culturedebate
#identitypolitics
When the Colston statue was replaced by a sculpture depicting a fat, bald man stuffed into a wheelie bin with the slogan ‘St George was Turkish’, many saw it as a deliberate insult to the white working class—part of a wider cultural trend that includes Kent Police warning about ‘Brexity things’ and Newsnight’s ‘Wall of Gammon’. Critics argue that such contempt now comes largely from the ‘progressive’ left, which historically championed working-class interests but has increasingly been shaped by an urban elite focused on identity politics, globalisation, climate policy and open borders. Ben Cobley, in The Progress Trap, contends that the modern left’s belief in being ‘on the right side of history’ fosters a moral authority that justifies controlling others.
Is Cobley right? Have today’s left-wing progressives become so detached from the working class they actually ‘despise’ them?
The speakers on this panel are:
Ben Cobley author, The Tribe: the liberal-left and the system of diversity and The Progress Trap; former Labour Party activist
Lisa McKenzie working-class academic; author, Lockdown Diaries of the Working Class
David Skelton author, The New Snobbery and Little Platoons
The Chair is:
Hilary Salt deputy leader SDP; actuary; founder, First Actuarial
A lively Q&A and discussion with the audience follows in Part 2.
WORLDwrite is a volunteer-run citizen TV channel that stands up for free speech – no ifs or buts. We film hard-hitting political debates, including panels from the Battle of Ideas festival, tackling taboo topics and defending ordinary people against contempt and censorship.
We train hundreds of young adults every year to shoot the arguments that matter, producing fearless films on politics, democracy, freedom, and global equality. Subscribe for unapologetic documentaries, debate and dissent. With no paid staff, the charity WORLDwrite which filmed and is editing the Battle of Ideas Festival sessions needs your help to keep its edit suites switched on. Please support the charity’s Christmas appeal if you can by visiting its JustGiving page at justgiving.com/campaign/worldwritesingathon
Or hit the Donate button below the video. Thank You.
Why do progressives seem to hate the working class? Speeches Battle of Ideas Festival
#workingclassvoices
#progressivepolitics
#culturedebate
#identitypolitics
When the Colston statue was replaced by a sculpture depicting a fat, bald man stuffed into a wheelie bin with the slogan ‘St George was Turkish’, many saw it as a deliberate insult to the white working class—part of a wider cultural trend that includes Kent Police warning about ‘Brexity things’ and Newsnight’s ‘Wall of Gammon’. Critics argue that such contempt now comes largely from the ‘progressive’ left, which historically championed working-class interests but has increasingly been shaped by an urban elite focused on identity politics, globalisation, climate policy and open borders. Ben Cobley, in The Progress Trap, contends that the modern left’s belief in being ‘on the right side of history’ fosters a moral authority that justifies controlling others.
Is Cobley right? Have today’s left-wing progressives become so detached from the working class they actually ‘despise’ them?
The speakers on this panel are:
Ben Cobley author, The Tribe: the liberal-left and the system of diversity and The Progress Trap; former Labour Party activist
Lisa McKenzie working-class academic; author, Lockdown Diaries of the Working Class
David Skelton author, The New Snobbery and Little Platoons
The Chair is:
Hilary Salt deputy leader SDP; actuary; founder, First Actuarial
A lively Q&A and discussion with the audience follows in Part 2.
WORLDwrite is a volunteer-run citizen TV channel that stands up for free speech – no ifs or buts. We film hard-hitting political debates, including panels from the Battle of Ideas festival, tackling taboo topics and defending ordinary people against contempt and censorship.
We train hundreds of young adults every year to shoot the arguments that matter, producing fearless films on politics, democracy, freedom, and global equality. Subscribe for unapologetic documentaries, debate and dissent. With no paid staff, the charity WORLDwrite which filmed and is editing the Battle of Ideas Festival sessions needs your help to keep its edit suites switched on. Please support the charity’s Christmas appeal if you can by visiting its JustGiving page at justgiving.com/campaign/worldwritesingathon
Or hit the Donate button below the video. Thank You.
