In the UK, in the post WW2 decades, the “Us” and the “Them” had been clearly defined along class lines. “Us” were the working class, generally without much money or social mobility, with an identity that came from hard work and physical exertion. “They” were the rich, and included the bankers, City Traders, business owners in their big houses, and even the politicians who were supposed to be looking after our interests, without ever really understanding them. In the years leading up to Punk, there was a growing distrust of these roles, and people had started to question how society was being run.
By the 1960s, Trade Unions were increasing their membership, and the strengthened Manufacturing, Transport and General workers Unions petitioned for higher wages, better job security, decent pensions and more safety in the workplace. Shop stewards ran for local parliamentary seats, and more working class people started to move into white-collar jobs and further education.
Generally, more and more of the working class were now on a socially upward trajectory, and many more of their sons and daughters were on course for University degrees and improved life opportunities. The Universities, in turn, were a breeding ground for new ideas and new approaches. Students began to demonstrate for the causes of the day; No Wars, No Nuclear Weapons, Women’s Liberation, and Whale Saving were all popular.
By the 1970s, some of these graduates were now working in schools themselves, a new influx of trendy teachers keen to bring their groovy and experimental ideas into the classroom, but they were still the exception among teaching staff. Outside of the education system, the trade unions continued to grow and exert their influence, and there were new bookshops, and new publications all geared to fan the flames of the same more egalitarian social ideals. Underneath the mainstream political movements, new politically charged sub-cultures were starting to question the status quo like never before.
The British government were apparently so shaken by the thought of Paris-like student uprisings that MI5 were called in to monitor the situation. Education secretary Margaret Thatcher MP warned “Some boys and girls are already beginning to develop political attitudes in an immature way…”
[For immature read Marxist – but at least girls got a mention and were apparently seen as an equal threat as the boys]
One of the publications distributed by the Schools Action Union was something called
Many of these same left wing ideas were finding a platform and a voice through Punk, whose whole ethos already subscribed to equality, anti racism, and the power to make changes. Bands like The Clash, X-Ray Spex, SLF and TRB made it very obvious whose side they were on, and us as the avid listeners, started to subscribe to this same punk plot to change the world.