Worried about Britain’s poor social mobility? Here’s a way to change things

At a time when politics resembles a bad soap opera, it’s easy to despair about the ability of government to change anything for the better. But as the Queen pointed out in her 2010 UN address, the best changes in society tend not to come from governments but from society more broadly. Anyone concerned about social mobility need not wait for government to act: there are changes that, if you’re reading this blog, you are probably able to make. You might be a position of influence, or have the ear of someone who is. That’s why this year, as last year, The Spectator is not asking its readers to offer money to a charity, as newspapers often do. We propose something that could be even more useful: to find work experience placements for teenagers on the books of the Social Mobility Foundation. Talented pupils do well at school, but they often lack the connections to get into the world of work.