**In a series of articles, ‘Le Monde’ examines the deepening crisis that England is enduring, marked by political instability and a worsening social crisis. Our UK correspondent Eric Albert visits Essex, an emblematic region where people are feeling the pinch.**
Lesley almost tried to apologize for talking about herself. “Really, I’m not to be pitied, there are people far worse off than me.” It’s just that life in recent years has been “a little tough”: a divorce, the pandemic and now spiraling inflation. With her slightly posh accent, measured manner and pronounced frown lines when she flashed a somewhat sad smile, it would be easy to imagine her enjoying afternoon teas with her retired friends. But at 68, after a lifetime as a dentist’s assistant, she is now forced to work in a store on the main street of Brentwood, Essex. “I’m not exactly getting the retirement I anticipated,” she said in a typically English understatement.
Lesley receives just the state pension (£770, or €880, per month) and a few hundred “additional” pounds. It’s not quite enough to live decently. But “really,” she didn’t want to complain. She has finished paying the monthly installments on her accommodation and is not in danger of being thrown out. On the other hand, her heart sinks when she thinks about her children. “I’m a Baby boomer, we’re a generation that’s been lucky, but it’s much harder for them.” Her 41-year-old daughter recently moved back into the family home, also following a divorce. It’s impossible for her to afford rent, let alone buy an apartment.
Lesley was also worried about her son, who is facing large mortgage payments now that interest rates have tripled in a year. “As for my granddaughter, she has just started university, where she is studying to become a teacher, but I am worried about her debt.” In England, a year of education costs £9,250. Once in the workforce, students then spend years paying off their loans. “I wonder where it’s all going to end up,” Lesley said. “All of it.” Housing prices, debt, cost of living… And salaries that don’t rise at a similar pace.
Like Lesley, a sense of slow but inevitable decline dominates conversations in Brentwood. This town of 73,000 inhabitants might be the first train stop after northeast London, but the situation is changing dramatically. The number of foreigners is decreasing, the Conservatives reign supreme and Brexit has largely won. The place has even become a national legend thanks to a reality show that has been filmed there for the past 12 years: The Only Way is Essex, which everyone in England nicknames ‘TOWIE.’ The pitch? Young men with tattoos and elaborate hairstyles flirt with young women with long painted nails, huge false eyelashes and orange skin from spray tans.”
Here, you can get your mouth done [with botox injections] on every corner, but you can’t find anything to eat,” said Lisa Neatherway, 40, a local real estate agent. She herself avoids plastic surgery, but her colleague Morgane, 25, has already had her lips plumped up. “And why not?” said Morgane. “I feel good like this!” The downtown area is full of beauty salons, hairdressers and nail bars. Essex has a particular reputation, a caricature of a flashy small middle-class stronghold with bad taste, obsessed with money and social climbing. Politicians are fascinated by it: Getting the support of Essex often means winning the country. Despite serious pockets of poverty, the area was a fervent supporter of the Thatcherite revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, its credo of self-enrichment and hard work. In recent years, it has lined up behind Brexit and Boris Johnson.
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**In a series of articles, ‘Le Monde’ examines the deepening crisis that England is enduring, marked by political instability and a worsening social crisis. Our UK correspondent Eric Albert visits Essex, an emblematic region where people are feeling the pinch.**
Lesley almost tried to apologize for talking about herself. “Really, I’m not to be pitied, there are people far worse off than me.” It’s just that life in recent years has been “a little tough”: a divorce, the pandemic and now spiraling inflation. With her slightly posh accent, measured manner and pronounced frown lines when she flashed a somewhat sad smile, it would be easy to imagine her enjoying afternoon teas with her retired friends. But at 68, after a lifetime as a dentist’s assistant, she is now forced to work in a store on the main street of Brentwood, Essex. “I’m not exactly getting the retirement I anticipated,” she said in a typically English understatement.
Lesley receives just the state pension (£770, or €880, per month) and a few hundred “additional” pounds. It’s not quite enough to live decently. But “really,” she didn’t want to complain. She has finished paying the monthly installments on her accommodation and is not in danger of being thrown out. On the other hand, her heart sinks when she thinks about her children. “I’m a Baby boomer, we’re a generation that’s been lucky, but it’s much harder for them.” Her 41-year-old daughter recently moved back into the family home, also following a divorce. It’s impossible for her to afford rent, let alone buy an apartment.
Lesley was also worried about her son, who is facing large mortgage payments now that interest rates have tripled in a year. “As for my granddaughter, she has just started university, where she is studying to become a teacher, but I am worried about her debt.” In England, a year of education costs £9,250. Once in the workforce, students then spend years paying off their loans. “I wonder where it’s all going to end up,” Lesley said. “All of it.” Housing prices, debt, cost of living… And salaries that don’t rise at a similar pace.
Like Lesley, a sense of slow but inevitable decline dominates conversations in Brentwood. This town of 73,000 inhabitants might be the first train stop after northeast London, but the situation is changing dramatically. The number of foreigners is decreasing, the Conservatives reign supreme and Brexit has largely won. The place has even become a national legend thanks to a reality show that has been filmed there for the past 12 years: The Only Way is Essex, which everyone in England nicknames ‘TOWIE.’ The pitch? Young men with tattoos and elaborate hairstyles flirt with young women with long painted nails, huge false eyelashes and orange skin from spray tans.”
Here, you can get your mouth done [with botox injections] on every corner, but you can’t find anything to eat,” said Lisa Neatherway, 40, a local real estate agent. She herself avoids plastic surgery, but her colleague Morgane, 25, has already had her lips plumped up. “And why not?” said Morgane. “I feel good like this!” The downtown area is full of beauty salons, hairdressers and nail bars. Essex has a particular reputation, a caricature of a flashy small middle-class stronghold with bad taste, obsessed with money and social climbing. Politicians are fascinated by it: Getting the support of Essex often means winning the country. Despite serious pockets of poverty, the area was a fervent supporter of the Thatcherite revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, its credo of self-enrichment and hard work. In recent years, it has lined up behind Brexit and Boris Johnson.
**Read the article here:** [**https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/11/21/the-distress-of-the-english-middle-class-we-feel-like-we-ve-been-in-recession-since-the-beginning-of-the-century_6005061_4.html**](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/11/21/the-distress-of-the-english-middle-class-we-feel-like-we-ve-been-in-recession-since-the-beginning-of-the-century_6005061_4.html)
I mean…yeah.
WTF was that article lol?
I think we’re all in agreement that British media is generally awful, but if that’s what people in France are reading then it’s no better at all.
You can replace English with pretty much every other country on the planet and it ‘ll still be true unfortunately.
Middle class everywhere is being squeezed.
they were fooled into believing the Conservatives actually care about them
World should be reverted to the 80s and 90s and stick it there forever. The 2000s were a mistake and should have never happened.
First time around, Britain? We meet here every last sunday of the month