Islington set

The place

Islington (/ˈɪzlɪŋtən/) is a district in Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy High Street, Upper Street, Essex Road (former "Lower Street"), and Southgate Road to the east.

The concept

The 'Liberal elite' (also metropolitan elite, Islington sect, Islington bubble or Islington set in the United Kingdom) is a stereotype of politically left-wing people whose education had traditionally opened the doors to affluence and power and form a managerial elite. It is commonly invoked pejoratively, with the implication that the people who claim to support the rights of the working class are themselves members of the ruling classes and are therefore out of touch with the real needs of the people they claim to support and protect.

Because the label is a rhetorical device, it carries flexible meaning depending on the circumstances in which it is used. The concept arose in the United States, but has spread to other English-speaking countries, where the term metropolitan elite is more common because liberal can have the opposite meaning, depending on country.

The main ideological points as of 2019

1. Pro-EU.
2. Pro-Multiculturalism.
3. Pro-LGBTQ.
4. Pro-Trade Unions
5. Pro-CBI
6. Pro-Blairite
7. Pro-London
8. Pro-Political correctness
9. Pro-women.
10. Pro-teenage students
11. Anti-mature students
12. Anti-elderly
13. Anti-nationalist
14. Anti-semitic
15. Anti-USA

Recent history

Emily Thornberry, Labour Party MP for Islington South and Finsbury, resigned as a member of the Shadow Cabinet on 20 November 2014 during the Rochester and Strood by-election, in which she tweeted a picture of a house draped with England flags and a white van parked outside with the caption 'Image from Rochester', thought by many to be a snobby jibe. Simon Danczuk, the Labour MP for Rochdale, commented that Thornberry's tweet furthers the perception that the Labour Party "has been hijacked by the north London liberal elite".

Furthermore, the term 'Hampstead Socialist' is often used synonymously, referring to the North London area of Hampstead, despite the fact that the Conservatives represent all the constituent wards of the area. However, the wider constituency of Hampstead and Kilburn has often elected Labour MPs, including the 2015 incumbent, and the seats in Hampstead Town ward have previously been won by the Liberal Democrats, making the similar term Hampstead liberal somewhat more accurate as a description. The term was also regularly used by Nick Griffin, the former leader of the British National Party and the phrase "North London metropolitan liberal elite" has been used by Home Secretary Priti Patel. Due to the high Jewish population of this area, references to "North London" elites have been accused by some, such as the Jewish Labour Movement, as a form of coded anti-semitism.

Toby Young of The Spectator made a similar claim of metropolitan elitism regarding Gordon Brown over the Bigotgate affair. On the campaign trail for the 2010 United Kingdom general election, the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown had a conversation with a voter who expressed concern about immigration, before describing her as "bigoted" whilst being driven away in a car with a microphone still transmitting. Stephen Glover of the Daily Mail was even more direct in his criticism of Gordon Brown as being a member of the metropolitan elite.

Toby Young also used the expression whilst writing in the Daily Mail to refer to Sacha Baron-Cohen, a comedian whose alter egos Borat and Brüno have focused on Deep South residents. The article was entitled "It's Bruno who's sick, not the ordinary people he treats with contempt", during which he wrote "Baron Cohen is encouraging the sophisticated, liberal elite to look down on those in a lower-income bracket".

Supposed supporters of the ideal

1. The BBC (a media company)
2. Jeremy Corbyn (Lab)
3. Ken Livingstone (Lab)
4. Nick Griffin (BNP)

Also see

• December 12th UK general election
• The European Research Group (The ERG)

Sources

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islington
2. https://democracy.islington.gov.uk/documents/s13234/8a.%20Islington%20Integration%20and%20Better%20Care%20Fund%202017-19.pdf
3. https://www.islington.media/news/islington-celebrates-the-repeal-of-section-28-with-a-launch-of-new-inclusive-education-materials-for-primary-schools
4. https://www.islington.gov.uk/
5. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30142579
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Islington_set&redirect=no
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_elite#In_the_United_Kingdom
8. https://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/05/voting-remain-is-an-act-of-heartless-snobbery/
9. https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/jlm-lambasts-priti-patel-for-north-london-metropolitan-liberal-elite-comment/
10. https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2019/10/priti-patel-turns-her-back-on-theresa-mays-legacy-at-the-home-office/
11. https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2015/apr/14/political-incorrectness-gone-mad-the-myth-of-the-metropolitan-elite
12. https://www.newstatesman.com/staggers/2014/06/party-s-been-hijacked-metropolitan-elite-labour-mp-simon-danczuk
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_and_Islington_College
14. https://www.candi.ac.uk/
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Borough_of_Islington
16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Borough_of_Finsbury
17. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/20/metropolitan-elite-britains-new-pariah-class
18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islington_London_Borough_Council