Elites in Britain: A Call for Ideas - Questionnaire

In 2019 the Sutton Trust, together with the Social Mobility Commission, published Elitist Britain 2019, a report looking at the backgrounds of around 5,000 individuals in high ranking positions across British society. The report aimed to provide a definitive document of who got to the top in Britain in 2019.

Four years on, the Trust is starting work on the next edition of Elitist Britain. This will not only be an update on the 2019 report, identifying where and how Britain’s elite may have changed, but it is also intended to give a more detailed and nuanced picture of the prominent people who run and dominate British Society.


'Elites' are hard to define. The Trust is therefore asking widely for views, opinions and suggestions on who should be considered in the next edition. What categories of roles should be included, and how should we define the people who have reached the 'top' in those categories?


Elitist Britain 2019 considered the following key areas of British society:


·         Politics

·         Business

·         Media

·         Whitehall and public bodies

·         Public servants

·         Local government

·         Women

·         Creative industries

·         Sport

 

You may like to refer to the following additional resources:


Elitist Britain 2019  - the full report.


Elitist Britain 2019 summary report - the shorter summary version of the report.


Elitist Britain 2019 methodological annex  - a more detailed explanation of how we identified who was included in the report.


PLEASE NOTE: ALL SECTIONS AND ALL QUESTIONS ARE OPTIONAL.


Thank you for taking the time to contribute. All responses will be fully reviewed by the Sutton Trust research team, who will make a final decision on categories and methodology used, informed by the feedback we have received. There will unfortunately be categories suggested we are not able to include due to capacity constraints.

 


SECTION 1: COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS RELATING TO THE 2019 CATEGORIES:


Please complete the following questions for your choices:











SECTION 2: METHODS AND SOURCES

For Elitist Britain 2019 we used the methods and sources detailed HERE. Some of these sources are no longer available or may need updating. If you have any suggestions for new or alternative sources (e.g. directories, top 100 lists etc.) you think we should use please suggest these here. 












SECTION 3: SUGGESTIONS FOR NEW CATEGORIES:
The Sutton Trust is looking potentially to expand the categories and subcategories in the new edition of Elitist Britain.

Below we will ask you to suggest any new categories that you think should be included. We are also interested in your ideas about some new categories that we are already considering, which include the following:
  • Members of the Welsh Senedd, Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly
  • Senior staff of think tanks and lobbying/interest groups
  • Senior leaders of major charities
  • Heads of major technology companies in the UK
  • Large landlords and senior staff in large property developers 
  • Social media influencers









Suggested category 1



Suggested category 2



Suggested category 3



Suggested category 4



SECTION 4: ABOUT YOU (OPTIONAL):

It could be useful for us to know more about you and your suggestions. If you would be happy for us to contact you regarding your responses to this form please give us your email address below.

Your email address

Your job, area of expertise, social or political roles etc.

Contact Information