Ireland is a much more egalitarian society, but you’re naive if you think class doesn’t exist there.
Class is the UK’s thing, like race is the US’s. But class exists in most societies, like it or not.
I live in what was once a very egalitarian country, but the rich have definitely got richer and the poor have got poorer. Class exists all over the world, and in all sorts of societies and cultures.
People love to be so superior (no irony there, not at all!) about the issue of class, deeming it beneath them to be bothered by it, or to wish to discuss it - yet here you all are, refreshing and filling up this thread!
And that’s OK. It’s a fascinating topic. Anyone with an ounce of curiosity about human behaviour, psychology, sociology, anthropology, history, etc, etc, etc will find it an interesting topic to delve into.
And the UK, in particular, is such an interesting case study.
Elsewhere in the world, accents are decided by region, and while that’s also true of the UK, as soon as someone opens their mouth, they give away a huge class indicator. It means some aspects are very entrenched and resistant to change.
But even in a country like mine, where there is very little difference in accents, you will still be able to glean information about a person’s social standing from the way they speak.
It’s just really interesting the way we, as humans, have such an innate need to group and sort ourselves. To want to belong, and likewise, to want to escape.