The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Clegg champions the cause of social mobility
INEQUALITY IN modern Britain is a form of social engineering, Nick Clegg will insist today.
The Deputy Prime Minister will dismiss claims that promoting social mobility artificially skews society.
He will tell the Sutton Trust conference on social mobility: “The myth is that the promotion of social mobility means lowering standards, or somehow dumbing down, to socially engineer a particular outcome.
“This is nonsense. Nonsense, I should add, which is usually peddled by those who benefit from the status quo – and therefore want to keep things the way they are.
“Social engineering is what’s happening now – the unfairness in our society, and the system that perpetuates it. “Social mobility is all about creating a truly level playing field, and a fair race.”
Mr Clegg, who attended the prestigious Westminster School, will dismiss critics who suggest his privileged background undermines his ability to tackle the subject.
“I know some people will say I should keep quiet about social mobility, that my birth, my education and my opportunities mean I have no right to speak up,” he will say.
“I couldn’t disagree more. If people like me who have benefited from the system don’t speak up, we will never get anywhere.”
The London conference will hear that of the one-fifth of children that are on free school meals only one in 100 are Oxbridge entrants, while 70% of high court judges are from a public school background.
Mr Clegg is expected to say: “This is a legacy we cannot afford. Morally, economically, socially – whatever your justification, the price is too high to pay.
“We must create a more dynamic society. One where what matters most is the person you become, not the person you were born.
“For liberals, this is core stuff. It gets to the very heart of our politics. We are a party and a creed that is defined by our belief in a fairer, more open society.”
The Liberal Democrat leader said the Government was tackling the problem by publishing an annual snapshot of indicators showing its progress and running a ministerial group on social mobility to coordinate work across Whitehall.
It comes after Labour leader Ed Miliband told the trust the Government was taking “backward steps” on social mobility by allowing inequality to grow and denying bright youngsters from poor backgrounds the chance to succeed.
He also attacked the “snobbery” that suggests only an academic education is worthwhile, insisting the UK must give more respect and value to vocational learning and apprenticeships.
Mr Miliband called for a “new bargain with employers,” with the Government offering the right support and incentives for them to deliver good training for long-term high-value jobs.
“The countries that succeed in having a higher-skilled, higher-paid workforce are those where employers and employees show commitment to each other,” said Mr Miliband.
“This is the opposite to what this Government wants to do – now considering a proposal from the Beecroft Report to make this short-term culture worse by allowing employees to be fired at will.”