A helping hand

Even if the Government’s new social mobility tsar believes that it is the role of politicians to tell parents how to bring up their children, he should, perhaps, compare notes with Nick Clegg, the man who appointed him, as to how feasible an idea this really is.

For, just as Mr Caan is reported to have employed his own daughter, so the Deputy Prime Minister 
was once found work experience at a bank by his own father.

The reality is that, whatever beliefs and principles one holds about the innate unfairness of society, when push comes to shove, a parent will always try to do the best for their children.

Instead of musing on what unworkable laws the Government might introduce to try to stop this happening, therefore, Mr Caan would be far better advised to look at alternative ways of rectifying Britain’s appalling record on social mobility.

He is, of course, right to point out that children 
from wealthier families 
and better schools do far better than those from poorer backgrounds. Indeed, this gap in achievement is one 
of the widest in the developed world.

The answer, however, is not to try to hold back the best pupils, but to try to ensure that all children, from whatever background, have the natural advantage of going to a good school. And this requires not a social mobility tsar but a strong and effective education policy.