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It feels like the UK is, while probably not the only one, definitely one of few countries where there isn't just the common regional and ethnic dimension when it comes to accents, but a 'poshness' one as well. RP or whatever version of that we'd now see as 'posh English' is something I have never heard any 'non-posh' person speak, no matter where in the UK they came from. You're definitely correct in that it's associated with the south of England, but to my knowledge it doesn't actually exist as a regional accent there either, right?
SwissChap-
It feels like the UK is, while probably not the only one, definitely one of few countries where there isn't just the common regional and ethnic dimension when it comes to accents, but a 'poshness' one as well.
Class certainly affects people's perception of accents. Still amazed by the number of English people who watched every series of "One foot in the grave" but didn't notice that the two lead characters had Scottish accents. They had "posh" accents (but very Scottish ones) and the English don't typically associate Scots with that, so they tuned it out some how, perceiving only the poshness.
itsbruce
Yeah, and I guess the whole idea of RP (or whatever you want to call it) is that it's a non-regional accent. Although arguably it's an accent associated with the south of England.