By Sam Bowman
Yesterday felt like a parody of politics in this country. A much-vaunted Government ‘strategy’ for social mobility was launched which, in policy terms, amounted to essentially nothing. Unfortunately, asking businesses and Government departments to be more socially conscious when hiring interns will do little to improve the chances of people born to poor families. But Labour’s reaction – attacking Nick Clegg for ‘hypocrisy’ in talking about the need for more social mobility, since he was born into a rich family – was absurd. As Nick Thornsby asked, if Clegg had announced that he was going to ignore social mobility would Harriet Harman say, ‘Quite right too, given his background’?
The focus on internships is beside the point. People who have managed to graduate from a decent university with the skills that would make them potential hires for good jobs are not the ones we should be concerned about. Many,
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