Social Stratification

In the past, there has been a class system in place in the UK, with the "Upper Class" and "Aristocracy" at the top of the food chain. These are members of the upper class of nobility who have inherited riches, privilege, and titles.

The "middle class" and the "working class" are the two strata after that. The working classes have historically identified themselves as being hardworking, lacking in social privilege, and sprung from a family that relied on unskilled labor. The working classes have not typically had easy access to higher education.

Middle-class people are typically thought of as "white collar" employees who live in privately owned suburban homes and have access to higher education. The distribution of wealth is leveling out, and upward mobility is becoming more and more possible, as a result of the increased availability to higher education and economic prospects for people from different origins in recent decades.
As a result, although there is still a sizable elite and privileged class in Britain, the middle class and the working class have become increasingly homogeneous.