The end of the creative classes in sight

Culture professionals network | Guardian Professional: A two sentence history of the British working classes over the last half century goes something like this: a combination of technology and international competition transformed Britain's traditional manufacturing sectors, and led to a dramatic contraction in the size of the industrial workforce. The labour movement, its weakness compounded by government policy, was unable to resist, resulting in lower wage inflation and a generation of mass unemployment. Many economists and policy makers will describe the upsides to this story: how the UK economy was able to restructure and prosper (up to a point and at least for a while) through high-value services. The role of manufacturing was displaced, and instead well-educated, highly skilled professionals working in sectors such as finance, business services, ICT and, of course, the creative industries became central to the economy.