Aristocrats have grown influence in past 150 years

ARISTOCRATS have become more influential in British society over the past 150 years, a new study has revealed.

Analysis shows that hereditary peers in the House of Lords – those who inherit the title from their mother or father – are almost 300 times more likely than non-aristocrats to be listed in a book recording the lives of influential people. This marks an increase since the 1800s, demonstrating that aristocratic influence has grown rather than waned over the decades, contrary to popular belief.

Researchers from London South Bank University studied the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, which contains posthumous entries on tens of thousands of people considered to have significantly shaped life in Britain. From this, they recorded the number of hereditary peers who died and were then listed in the reference book – and compared this to the total number of aristocrats who died.

They then did a similar calculation for the whole population, which told them how likely it was for an aristocrat and a non-aristocrat to be listed as ‘influential’.

Results, published by the British Sociological Association, revealed that one in eight aristocrats who died in the years 2008-2018 were added to the reference book.

In contrast, only one in 2,343 people from the general population were added, meaning aristocrats were 292 times more likely to feature.

A similar comparison for 1858-1867 found that the difference was smaller, with aristocrats 221 times more likely to feature.

The researchers said there could be any number of reason for these results, including aristocrats using their wealth or “connections to old boys’ networks” to get ahead.