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Underdogs

The Truth About Britain's White Working Class

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Underdogs

By: Joel Budd
Narrated by: Oliver Hembrough, Joel Budd
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About this listen

Including a preface read by the author, Joel Budd.

Underdogs
is a compelling, myth-busting account of white working-class Britain.

'Few books bring so much fresh thinking to tired arguments' - Robert Ford, author of Brexitland
________


No large group of people in Britain is as badly misunderstood as the white working class. Its members have been caricatured as grumpy and backward-looking, as incorrigibly xenophobic, even racist – a tired and simplistic narrative perpetuated by commentators and the media. The truth is entirely different.

Thirty years ago, almost nobody talked about the white working class: in the House of Commons and the House of Lords the term had been used just three times in the previous two decades. Brexit helped to turn the group into a towering social and political force. But, in the aftermath, one-third of the population has been reduced to a cartoon. A shrewder analysis is badly needed. Underdogs provides it.

Veteran Economist journalist Joel Budd has spent years travelling around Britain, from Teesside to the Isle of Wight, south Wales to Lincolnshire. In Underdogs he offers a sharp corrective to the familiar stereotype of the white working class. It describes a hugely diverse group of people that is driving social and cultural change, not just grumbling about it.

©2025 Joel Budd (P)2025 Macmillan Publishers International Limited
Europe Great Britain Labour & Industrial Relations Politics & Government Social Classes & Economic Disparity Sociology Social justice Socialism

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Critic reviews

Demolishes Brexit myths . . . This book is not just well-timed but admirably powerful. (The Guardian)
Outstanding journalism . . . The macro is there but the micro draws out the best writing from this gifted reporter. (New Statesman)
This has never been more needed . . . a robust account of the history of the white working-class. (inews)
Budd deftly negotiates his way through this treacherous terrain . . . Thoughtful and nuanced. (The Observer)
Packed with revealing content. (Independent)
All stars
Most relevant  
very interesting read. if a bit centrist for an old lefty like me! sensible and well argued, avoiding the populism of far right

a must read

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A great informative book that provides a fresh reflection on the state we are in

Great read

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Wonderful! Inciteful, heartfelt and thoroughly entertaining. Great narrator too. I finished the whole book in a couple of days

Fascinating

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