The Great British Class Survey

I was surprised to see in a recent survey that well over half of the British public would categorise themselves as 'working class'.

It's a rather high proportion, and it includes a vast range of people: anyone from a building worker to a cabinet minister can it seems describe themselves as working class. There's an enormous variation in income, power and influence in that group.

How much does the division of British society into working, middle, and upper classes still reflect today's Britain? Does our society really work like that? Does class even matter at all in 2011?

Today we are launching The Great British Class Survey, a nationwide interactive study, to look for answers to these questions and many more. The survey will examine what class really means, and whether it still matters, in 21st century Britain.

British society has gone through profound social and economic changes since the Second World War. Once, the vast majority of people laboured in factories and fields that were owned by an aristocratic ruling class but managed by a clerical and professional middle class. That society has disappeared. Several major studies suggest that the 19th century division of society into working, middle and upper classes is no longer relevant in post-industrial Britain.

Despite this, our national fascination with class carries on regardless; you only have to look at the huge popularity of programmes like Downton Abbey for evidence of that. On the other hand, some people would argue that class simply doesn't matter anymore. It seems the nature of Britain's class system today is very much open to debate.

When it comes to making policy decisions, or having a proper debate about the class system, we need much more than stereotypes and received wisdom. We need a proper fact-based assessment of what 'class' really is, based on the data. That's exactly what we intend this survey to produce.

To do this we have worked with Mike Savage of York University and Fiona Devine of the University of Manchester, leading experts on class, and the BBC's own LabUK, which conducts mass participation research studies online. The Great British Class Survey has been thoroughly designed to uncover the complexity and subtlety of class.

The survey approaches class from a new angle, as a function of three factors: wealth, social connections and cultural range. Until now, most major studies focused on economic factors such as income and occupation. Social factors, such as networks of personal contacts, are also beginning to be studied as important components to determine class.

But there is increasing evidence to suggest that what we know and do - our culture, as expressed in our interests, activities and hobbies - also influences our life chances. For the first time, this study will investigate all three factors together and see how they inter-relate. With the help of your participation, we'll be able to discover how wealth, social networks and culture interact to generate social advantage or disadvantage.

You can do the survey on LabUK's website now - it'll take around 20 minutes.

As part of our class theme, around the launch of the survey we are also showing two films on BBC Two examining what it takes to get on the career ladder in today's Britain, and who has access to the best jobs, including that of the Prime Minister.

In Posh & Posher: Why Public School Boys Run Britain (BBC Two, Wednesday 26th January 9pm) Andrew Neil hits the road to find out what's happening to the background of our leaders and if British politics is dominated by posh people.

In Who Gets The Best Jobs? (BBC Two, Wednesday 2nd February 9pm) Richard Bilton explores to what level people's backgrounds still dictate the opportunities open to them in leading professions.

We'll be publishing the results of the survey this summer on our website - thanks for taking part!

Clive Edwards, Executive Editor of Current Affairs