The chair of the Social Mobility Commission (SMC), Alun Francis, has accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of failing to deliver a coherent strategy to tackle entrenched inequalities affecting millions of young people in the UK. In an interview with the Guardian, Francis said the government talks about social mobility but lacks a unified approach to address the issue.
Francis's comments follow an SMC report last week warning that young adults in former industrial heartlands are being left behind due to failed promises by successive governments. The report highlighted that opportunities are overconcentrated in thriving cities like Manchester, Edinburgh, and Bristol, while poorer conditions persist elsewhere.
Francis praised some government policies on devolution and housing but criticised welfare reform and other proposals as 'stop-start'. He noted uncertainty around growth and educational improvement, and said there is 'no overarching narrative' to connect skills policy and industrial strategy. Without a clear strategy, he argued, the government will struggle to improve social mobility.
The commissioner also warned that social mobility risks being subsumed by diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) policies, which have been criticised by Reform UK. He stressed that social mobility is an economic and social policy aimed at benefiting everyone, not just a DEI issue.
The SMC report came as official figures showed an 85,000 increase in youth unemployment in the three months to October, with nearly 1 million young people not in education, employment, or training. Disadvantaged young people are more than twice as likely to be in this situation, with the highest rates in northern England and the Midlands.
A government spokesperson acknowledged the crisis, stating that Alan Milburn has been asked to lead a review into youth unemployment. They said the government is bringing forward the biggest employment reforms in a generation to ensure every young person has an opportunity.
