The Guardian view on the class crisis in the arts: the UK's culture must not become the preserve of the elite | Editorial

"A socioeconomic duty on public bodies was included in 2010's Equality Act, but has never been enacted. Now Class Ceiling, a review from Manchester University, co-chaired by the former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal, is calling for change. It wants class to be made a legally protected characteristic like race and sex (and several others), to address the class crisis in the arts not just in the north-west but across the UK."

"The report tells a depressingly familiar story. A 2022 study showed that the proportion of working-class actors, musicians and writers has halved since the 1970s; another in 2024 found that fewer than one in 10 arts workers in the UK had working-class roots. Top-selling musicians are six times more likely than other people to have attended private schools, and Bafta-nominated actors five times more likely to have done so."

"Before 1960, according to one study, nearly half of opera singers came from working-class backgrounds. Today, as Adele Thomas, the recently appointed CEO of Welsh National Opera, has said, you need a private income just to live. Michael Sheen, who, like Thomas, comes from Port Talbot and whose inaugural production for the Welsh National Theatre opened this month, set up a programme to support writers from working-class and other underrepresented backgrounds."

Class Ceiling, a review co-chaired by Nazir Afzal, urges class to become a legally protected characteristic to tackle a class crisis across the UK arts. Studies show working-class representation among actors, musicians and writers has halved since the 1970s, and under one in ten arts workers had working-class roots in 2024. Top-selling musicians are six times more likely, and Bafta-nominated actors five times more likely, to have attended private schools. Guardian analysis found 30% of artistic directors and creative leaders were privately educated. Historical data indicate nearly half of opera singers came from working-class backgrounds before 1960, a figure that has since collapsed, and many artists now require private income to participate.

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