The posh thread made me think of this. This is intended to be lighthearted but I am genuinely intrigued!
So... I grew up in London and have a fairly RP accent. Apparently it's not completely identifiable anymore - it seems like it comes across as "generic well-to-do accent" except when visiting London where I sound a bit northern, apparently 
I have lived most of my adult life in various locations in the north of England. Now, I thought the whole north/south divide, the jokes abut "soft southerners" and "the grim north" were all based on the general idea/cliches of posh/rich people vs normal people doing hardcore jobs like mining.
However, being posh seems to be more accepted than being southern - especially from London! So many people over the years have said things along the lines of: I sound like Im local, but rich/posh, rather than being a southerner - so it's ok, I'm one of them. Plus actually saying "At least you're not a cockney!" - the last time this happened was just a couple of weeks ago. (I'd mentioned I'd grown up in London, adding "as you can probably tell by my accent", a bit self-consciously, and the response was "Not really, it's hard to place your accent - but at least you're not a cockney!")
It just seems really odd - I'd have thought cockneys would be viewed as fellow tough working class people whilst the 'posh' accent would indiciate the sort of cosseted 'soft southerners' as per the cliche? But being from the south seems to be viewed as 'worse' than being posh!
Thoughts?