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Tomorrow I’m publishing a major report about ‘social mobility’ over the last 30 years. What does that mean? Its simple. Is it easier to get ahead and get on today, or harder? There’s some good news – and some powerful lessons from the past. It seems that despite the huge economic, social and political change between 1970 and 2000, social mobility didn’t get better. It stayed the same.
Now, finally it could be getting better. Early evidence from Bristol University shows that parental income could be beginning to have less of an influence on the exam results of kids born in 1990/91. That hasn’t happened by accident. Investment and reform in early years services, schools, vocational education and work-based training are all vital for the future. But our task is two fold. Investing in a more mobile society. And second capturing a big chunk of the high value jobs that come with the doubling of world wealth over the next 25 years, so there’s more high paying jobs to go round. Tory confusion and cuts won’t deliver that.