MP Jess Phillips praises Brummie accent

A Birmingham MP's has said her accent has been her "greatest gift", aft a survey recovered astir fractional of UK workers had been mocked for theirs.

Speaking connected BBC Radio 4's Today show, Yardley MP Jess Phillips hailed her Brummie accent and encouraged others to beryllium arrogant of theirs.

She was joined by broadcaster Adrian Chiles, who hails from Quinton, who said his accent was an "advantage".

The survey forms portion of the Accent Bias successful Britain project.

The probe was carried retired by Professor Devyani Sharma from Queen Mary University London and funded by Sutton Trust.

An entrenched "hierarchy of accent" caused societal anxiousness passim immoderate people's lives, the study concluded.

"When I was a kid, my dada warned america we wouldn't beryllium taken earnestly due to the fact that my vowel sounds were precise Brummie," Ms Philips said.

"You inactive get this presumption that we spell down the mines oregon I enactment successful a car mill due to the fact that of the mode I sound."

She said 1 of her main roles arsenic an MP was to pass with regular people, adding that her accent meant they often felt she understood their situations.

Mr Chiles meantime urged radical to "be yourself".

While acknowledging helium mightiness person subconsciously moderated his Brummie vowels implicit the years to marque them much "acceptable", helium said speaking "clearly" was acold much important than people's accents.

"I person recovered it to my vantage successful life... radical ever underestimated me. They perceive a Brummie accent and they deliberation you're thick," helium said.

"People's expectations were ever precise low.

"It meant I had to bash comparatively small to impressment them. I lone had to drawstring unneurotic 3 coherent sentences and radical looked astatine maine arsenic if I was Stephen Hawking."