6 articles
• via BBC News
Only 20% of UK 16- and 17-year-olds hold jobs amid record youth unemployment and surging business costs. Cross-party minimum wage hikes exclude teens, perpetuating an experience trap and eroding social mobility.
• via the Guardian
King's vice-chancellor admits UK degrees no longer guarantee social mobility amid surfeit of graduates and stagnant earnings. Cross-party expansion delivers debt over ladders in a low-growth economy.
• via LBC
Government internships label £80k train drivers as working class via occupation, not income, sidelining police and prison officers on lower pay. This rigid system distorts social mobility efforts across parties.
• via The Herald
Fifty years after mine closures, Scotland's industrial heartlands show entrenched disadvantage in jobs and childhood outcomes. Governments across decades failed to regenerate, widening UK mobility gaps.
• via BBC News
The University of Bradford's achievement in having the highest proportion of ethnic minority students in England and Wales is a double-edged sword. While it highlights the need for greater diversity in higher education, it also raises questions about the quality of education being provided and the true meaning of social mobility.
• via The Telegraph
While Westminster debates growth strategies and productivity puzzles, the actual mathematics of British life reveals something more fundamental: the UK has constructed an economic system where working full-time is barely more rewarding than not working at all. The Telegraph's analysis lays bare what happens when a society systematically rewards dependency over contribution.