Commenting on Elitist Britain 2019, a report from
the Sutton Trust and Social Mobility Commission which looks at
the educational background of over 5,000 of Britain’s leading and
“influential” people, Kevin
Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the
National Education Union, said:
"As this research makes clear, Britain is a deeply divided and
unequal class-based society with those in the most powerful and
prestigious professions much more likely to have attended private
schools and Oxbridge than the country as a whole, despite these
institutions educating a tiny minority of the population.
"It is simply unacceptable that in the 21st century, the biggest
indicator of future employment, wealth and status is the school
or university you attended and the wealth and social position of
your parents.
"This research comes on top of other alarming evidence of growing
inequality in Britain. The recent report from the UN special
rapporteur on Poverty, Philip Alston, described poverty in the UK
as 'systematic' and 'tragic' and said that our Government 'has
remained determinedly in a state of denial'. (1). In addition,
research highlighted yesterday showed that life expectancy in
Britain is faltering, reversing a 100-year trend of growing life
expectancy. (2)
"There were 4.1 million children living in poverty in the UK in
2016-17. That’s 30 per cent of children, or 9 in a classroom of
30. Despite the Government's claims that more people are in work,
the fact is that work is not a route out of poverty, since among
poor children, two thirds live in a household where at least one
adult is working. (3)
"It is clear that the Government's emphasis on 'social mobility'
has failed. Instead, Government must commit to tackling and
ending poverty and inequality in the UK. "
Notes to Editors
1. Statement on Visit to the United Kingdom, by Professor Philip
Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and
human rights. Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23881&LangID=E
2. Robin McKie, Why is Life Expectancy Faltering? Observer (23
June 2019). Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/23/why-is-life-expectancy-falling
3.Child Poverty Facts and Figures, End Child Poverty Coalition
website. Available at: https://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/key-facts/
