This chapter focuses on the interviews and ethnographic observation conducted by a group of sociologists with Tyneside shipbuilders in 1968–71. Re-examining the interviews suggests several conclusions: class was important to many of the men, but its significance varied depending on context and was closely linked to gender identity. Many closely associated class with snobbishness and hierarchy, and these were things the shipbuilders generally condemned. Instead, they emphasized ordinariness, authenticity, and individuality, all values with deep roots in male, working-class culture. In their attitudes to politics, the effects of the decline of deference were visible: a significant minority of men voiced sceptical or hostile comments about the Labour Party, politics, and/or trade union hierarchies. Individual self-interest was the basis of trade union solidarity for many, and the decline of deference therefore drove greater unofficial strike activity, restless militancy, and even outright insubordination.
