The changing occupational class composition of London

Abstract

This paper is a response to the paper by Manley and Johnston (2014, “London: A Dividing City, 2001–11?” City 18 (6): 633–643) which analyzed occupational class change in London 2001–14. While it queries some of their classifications, the census data show that middle class growth seems to have stalled in proportionate though not in absolute terms from 2001–11. However, this does not fundamentally challenge Hamnett and Butler's thesis that the middle classes, upper and lower, have grown substantially in London over the last 50 years as a result of changes in industrial and occupational structure. The paper discusses some of the possible reasons for changes in the last decade and reiterates the importance of using census data as a tool for the analysis of urban social change.