Alun Francis, chair of the Social Mobility Commission, says that Keir Starmer has no coherent plan for social mobility (Starmer has no coherent social mobility plan, says top government adviser, 21 December). That would indeed appear to be the case. But one can question how far a Labour government should be looking to the commission for guidance. What seems to not be widely recognised is that when in 2021 the commission was reconstituted by Liz Truss, as the then minister for women and inequalities, it took on a highly politicised form. Of its six current members, four have, or have had, Conservative party affiliations.
The commission’s recently published annual report for 2025 provides some useful information on various matters, including regional differences in opportunity structures, youth unemployment and the Neet (not in education, employment or training) problem that the chair now emphasises. However, what also has to be noted from his foreword to the report is the distinct rightwing slant on social mobility that was initiated by his predecessor as chair, Katharine Birbalsingh, and that he maintains.
