Blue Collar Owners

Contrary to popular belief, there is a strong tradition of Blue Collar Owners in the UK. In the Victorian Age, this group were called as the “Working Class Tories”, and it is this set of values that the tribe draws upon. They tend to live in the less expensive areas of owner occupied housing, they tend to work in skilled trades or junior clerical jobs, and they tend to be proud and self-reliant.

 

In terms of education, the members of the group tend to be practical rather than intellectual, and they feel that the value of education lies in the practical use to which education can be put. Many members of the group did not have an easy start to life and they feel that they have worked hard to achieve the material comfort that they enjoy.

 

The parents of this group tend to express their ambitions through their children even though there is a relatively low level of uptake of further and higher education in this group. In turn, this leads to a relatively high level of offspring living at home after school. In consumption terms, household incomes tend to be high owing to the large number of working adults present in the household and the absence of expensive mortgages.

 

There are two sub-groups to this Tribe who live in Suffolk -  the Affluent Blue Collars, and the Lo-Rise Right To Buy. The Affluent Blue Collar sub-group tends to live in upscale suburban areas where, despite their blue collar origins, they have sufficient income to be able to afford these areas. The Lo-Rise Right To Buy sub-group tends to enjoy normal levels of income, and has exercised their right to buy their local authority housing stock. As such, they tend to live in the more built-up parts of the county.

 

Despite their common origins, the two sub-groups are quite disparate in their likes and dislikes. The Affluent Blue Collar sub-group has a preference for Home Improvements, the Lottery, and Outdoor Pursuits. The Lo-Rise Right To Buy sub-group on the other hand has a preference for Personal Loans, Barbeques, and Travel Inns.

 

Equally, the Affluent Blue Collar sub-group has an antipathy towards Domestic Staff, Satellite Dishes, and the NHS; whilst the Lo-Rise Right To Buy sub-group on the other hand has an antipathy towards Country Clubs, Foreign Holidays, and Espresso Culture.

 

However, having said this, both groups have a predisposition towards self-improvement (in their own way), and both have an inward focus that helps to frame their dislikes. Historically, his group experienced growth in the period 1980-2000. However, with the demise of traditional Blue Collar employment, it is quite likely that this group will decline numerically in the years to 2020. The key issue facing this Tribe is how they can maintain their lifestyle in the face of structural decline.

 
Text Box: The Twelve Tribes Of Suffolk

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LOCATION

 

In Suffolk, the Blue Collar Owners are the primary Tribe in the following Post Code Sectors:

CB0900, CB0909, CO1000, CO1001, CO1101, IP0105, IP0106, IP1402, NR3203, NR3309, NR3409, NR3501.

In Suffolk, the Blue Collar Owners are the secondary Tribe in the following Post Code Sectors:

CB0907, CB0908, IP0209, IP0309, IP0804, IP1401, IP1405, IP1900, IP2402, IP2403, IP2700, NR3204, NR3300, NR3307.

 

Click Here to link to a map that shows the locations of the Tribe in Suffolk. The area shaded in Purple is where the Blue Collar Owners are the primary Tribe, and the area shaded in Orange is where the Blue Collar Owners are the secondary Tribe.