Barnsley poet Ian McMillan calls for National Accent Day - after report shows a quarter of workers get mocked for theirs

The Sutton Trust’s Speaking Up report examines the impact that someone’s accent has on their journey through life, based on the experiences of sixth-formers, university students and professionals.

The research finds that 30 per cent of students report being mocked, criticised or singled out due to their accents, and 25 per cent of professionals report the same in work settings.

Students originally from the north of England were the most likely to be concerned their accent could affect their ability to succeed in the future – 41 per cent versus 19 per cent for those in the south, excluding London.

One law student from Leeds reported that when he was doing a mock trial, the judge asked him to repeat himself multiple times, although he was speaking clearly. He said: “The issue was that my accent is perceived as chavvy, or not posh or Queen’s English enough.”

An employee, also from Leeds, said: “There seems to be a set accent within professional workspaces that mine does not confirm to.”

However Mr McMillan – who Wikipedia describes as being known for “his strong and distinctive Yorkshire accent” – said without it he’d be “sitting on a bench and supping cider”.

He said there were times when he sounded like his father, who was Scottish, and he had been mocked for his accent in the past. However confidence and competence was a way through, he said, adding: “You think: ‘Jigger them’.”

But he thinks there should be a National Accent Day to celebrate regional accents “with all Government announcements having to be conducted in regional accents on the day.”

The report said attitudes have remained largely unchanged, with the standard received pronunciation, French-accented English, and “national” standard varieties (Scottish, American, Southern Irish) all ranked highly.

Accents associated with cities like Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham – commonly stereotyped as “working class accents” – and ethnic minority accents (Afro-Caribbean, Indian) are the lowest ranked.

The report said employers should aim to have a range of accents within their organisation, and action to tackle accent bias should be seen as an important diversity issue.

However it was best to avoid focusing excessively on “accent modification”, and instead focus on subject knowledge and confident public speaking.

The report’s author Professor Devyani Sharma said the research shows that “a long-standing hierarchy of accent prestige” is still in place.