This then hollows out these communities. With the clear evidence of blighted lives and their economic costs, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government put social mobility at the heart of its social policy agenda.
The noteworthy exception have been efforts by Justine Greening, secretary of state for education, who is active and engaged with the issue and deserves praise. There have also been some positive initiatives in local and devolved government which the commission highlighted. But the absence of anything that looks like a strategy or framework — let alone resources — to shape and cajole those who can make coherent change to improve social mobility is deeply depressing.
Then the commission itself was neglected. Only four of the original ten members were left. Replacements from across society — and especially private sector firms — were supposed to have been announced by David Cameron shortly after the Brexit vote.
When he then resigned, the process started all over again and, 18 months later, nothing has been forthcoming. Mr Milburn said Education Secretary Justine Greening had been a "champion for the cause" and had wanted him to stay in post - which Ms Greening, who also appeared on the show, would not be drawn on.
She denied the government lacked the will to tackle inequality, but admitted more needed to be done. In a report published last week , the commission said economic, social and local divisions laid bare by the Brexit vote needed to be addressed to prevent a rise in far right or hard left extremism. It said London and its commuter belt appeared to be a "different country" to coastal, rural and former industrial areas, with young people there facing lower pay and fewer top jobs.
The resignations come as Mrs May, who entered Downing Street in July promising to tackle the "burning injustices" that hold back poorer people, faces questions over the future of senior minister Damian Green - who is effectively her second in command - and is under pressure as Brexit talks continue. In an interview in the Sunday Times , Mr Milburn said: "There has been indecision, dysfunctionality and a lack of leadership.
The government said it was making "good progress" on social mobility and focusing on disadvantaged areas. It said it had already told Mr Milburn it planned to appoint a new chair and would hold an open application process for the role. It said it was committed to fighting injustice "and ensuring everyone has the opportunity to go as far as their talents will take them".
It highlighted its increase of the national living wage, cuts in income tax for the lowest paid and doubling of free childcare in England. The process of appointing a new chairperson and commissioners would begin as soon as possible, it added.
The other board members standing down include deputy chair of the commission and Tory former education secretary Baroness Shephard. Paul Gregg, a professor of economic and social policy at the University of Bath, and David Johnston, the chief executive of the Social Mobility Foundation charity, are also leaving.
Shadow cabinet office minister Jon Trickett said the resignations came as "no surprise". At the current rate, it would take 15 years to narrow the ability gap between rich and poor at the age of five, 20 years for wages to return to the same level in real terms as they were before the crash, 80 years to close the gap in higher education participation rates. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Mr Milburn declares: "There has been indecision, dysfunctionality and a lack of leadership.
And he compares the commission's attempts to tackle the problem in the face of Government inaction to "pushing water uphill". Besides Baroness Shephard, the other commissioners who have resigned include Paul Gregg, professor of economic and social policy at the Bath University, and David Johnston, chief executive of the Social Mobility Foundation. The mass resignation is hugely embarrassing for the Prime Minister, who began her premiership with a speech on the steps of Downing Street pledging to tackle the "burning injustices" that hold back the poor and non-white people.
She declared "the mission of the government I lead" would be to "make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few, but for every one of us". Talking the talk is all very well, but you also need to walk the walk.
They are so concerned with Brexit that there is no bandwidth to focus on any of this stuff. Mr Milburn says the Government needs to do more to tackle "the fault lines in education", poor wages and housing if they wanted to boost social mobility. He warns that the people who will suffer will be precisely those voters who voted for Brexit and harboured legitimate grievances about their life chances.
Responding to the resignations, Labour's shadow minister for the Cabinet office Jon Trickett MP said: "As inequality has grown under the Tories, social mobility has totally stalled. Theresa May has rewarded the rich whilst holding everyone else back. It is no surprise the whole Social Mobility Commission has resigned in frustration. The resignations are said to come after a standoff between the Government and the commission over support for its work.
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