Readers have pushed back against claims that Glastonbury reflects a new England, arguing the festival is pricey, exclusive and overwhelmingly middle class. In letters responding to a recent article by John Harris, correspondents said the event does not represent the so-called silent majority.
Paul Berry of Liverpool noted that tickets sell out in minutes and getting there is expensive. “That’s not the everyday Britain most people live in,” he wrote. He added that many people are too exhausted by rent hikes and bills to engage with politics, let alone headline sets.
Sarah Kerry from Belper, Derbyshire, called for a figure like Bob Geldof to harness the power of the silent majority and counter divisive figures such as Nigel Farage. She warned that splitting the vote among Greens, Liberal Democrats and independents had allowed Reform to gain ground.
Jonathan Harris of Poundon, Oxfordshire, dismissed the idea that festival-goers represent England, comparing them instead to members of the MCC at Lord’s. “No, John, they are representative of a self-selected group attending an overhyped music festival,” he wrote.
