'Hardworking families', besides its direct meaning of 'families that work hard' or 'families whose constituents work
hard', is used as a rhetorical device (a code word) in the politics of the United Kingdom and that in the

United States: it is used pragmatically beyond its semantic value. In such uses, the phrase
usually appears in the plural form.
For example, in a debate on tax policy or public services, the contending parties (usually the Labour Party and the Conservatives) may both propose to lower taxes and provide services for 'hardworking families'; but
the phrase are used to connote different sectors of the society: they may include
everyone who might vote for them but exclude feckless benefit recipients (right-wing use) or those who have unearned income (left-wing use).

It may evoke, for some listeners, references to the Protestant work ethic, or Margaret
Thatcher's famous quote: '[People constantly requesting government intervention] are casting their problems at society. And,
you know, there's no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families. And no government can do
anything except through people, and people must look after themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves and then,
also, to look after our neighbours.' (interview on 1987-09-23, to the magazine Woman's Own, published 1987-10-31.)
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Examples of use
One of the first uses in the newspapers in such a manner appeared in The Herald (Glasgow), 1996-10-07: 'Meanwhile, the aspirations of ordinary, hardworking
families will be the focus of attention for Tories in Bournemouth this week, their last
conference before the General Election.' According to the LexisNexis newspaper archive, the Daily Mail used the phrase
about a dozen times in the two-year period 1998 to 1999, pioneering the use amongst newspapers in the United Kingdom. Since then, the Daily Mail and the Evening Standard are the most frequent newspaper users of the phrase.

Another example, going along with this uncritical use, the Daily
Telegraph in a commentary about the 2005 Budget, ('At a glance guide to the most likely
changes ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/03/14/nbudg314.xml)', 14 March), had a section under the rubric 'hardworking families': 'It is equally certain
that there will be something for hard-working families after Tony Blair and the Chancellor have made several public announcements
about their commitment on this subject'. BBC News is more cautious in quoting: ('Pro-hunt demo at Labour gathering ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3695786.stm)', 2004-09-28): 'She (Baroness Mallalieu) said the protesters wanted to show it was "hardworking families" which would be hit
by a hunting ban.' The hard-left Socialist Worker newspaper uses
the phrase most critically, but still fails to make the criticism explicit: 'Chancellor Gordon Brown says that Tuesday's budget
was designed to reward "hardworking families". What a sickening insult to the workers at Longbridge and the dependent factories
who face devastation. ... These "hardworking families" now face the dole.' ('Labour fiddles while Rover burns' ( http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/1689/sw168903.htm), 2000-03-25)

The first such use in modern parliamentary
debates is in a speech by Lord Northbrook on 1999-07-23, as recorded in the Hansard: 'Turning to tax allowances, the married couples' allowance has been abolished, which is a strange move for
a government who profess to support the family. They have abolished the MIRAS tax relief which has hit home-buyers. The change to
the allowances for couples with children--the new children's tax credit--which is tapered away for higher rate taxpayers, will
affect hardworking families on middle incomes.' (column 1229 ( http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199899/ldhansrd/vo990723/text/90723-01.htm))

During the United
Kingdom general election, 2005, the Conservative leader Michael
Howard gave a speech which said: 'A Conservative government will give hope to hardworking families – decent people who
respect others, who take responsibility for their children and who contribute to their local communities.' (speech in Telford, 2005-04-10, 'It's time to set an
annual limit to immigration ( http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=news.story.page&obj_id=121612&speeches=1)')
Earlier in the season, Labour's general election co-ordinator Alan Milburn

wrote: 'Then, it was mortgage rates at 15 per cent for a whole year with 1.5 million households suffering negative equity and
over 250,000 families losing their homes—now, hardworking families are enjoying the lowest mortgage rates for 40 years.
Then, it was 400,000 more on hospital waiting lists—now, it is almost 300,000 off. Then, it was crime doubled—now,
it’s crime down by over a quarter.' ('Britain is
Working' ( http://www.labour.org.uk/councillors/newsite/agenda/agenda_aut49fw.html), Agenda: magazine of
the Association of Labour Councillors, winter 2004/5)
(Submitted to Wikipedia but about to be deleted: " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardworking_families")