The post-war dream of doing better in life than one’s parents has faded as Britain is now a country where opportunities for upward social mobility and economic progress are increasingly limited, the study said.
This contrasts with the golden age of social mobility enjoyed by the United Kingdom in the early years of the Queen’s reign, when the growing economy allowed a generation to take up professional work and own homes.
But today, as the monarch celebrates his platinum anniversary, the prospects for social mobility for disadvantaged young people are bleak, the study said.
“For generations growing up in the early 21st century, the dream of just doing better in life, let alone climbing the income ladder, is disappearing,” said the Sutton Trust.
The “room at the top”, which opened for the platinum jubilee generation born in the 1950s, which took advantage of the post-war expansion of the welfare state, has shrunk, it said. For many, the chances of moving down the class structure are now greater than the chances of moving up.
“This new study shows the extent to which opportunities are still being determined by the past and shockingly predicts a decline in income mobility for poorer young people driven by the pandemic and the recent cost of living crisis,” said Sir Peter Lample, president of Sutton. Trust.
The study highlights how childhood home ownership has become an increasingly important indicator of wealth mobility, noting that the overall decline in home ownership in the UK over the past two decades has disproportionately affected poorer people.
Of the people born in 1958 who grew up in rented housing, 74% became homeowners by the age of 42. This boom in property mobility reversed sharply by 2017. By then, only 51% of 42-year-old rented homes were homeowners.
In contrast, among those whose parents owned the house in which they lived, the decline in homeowners is much less pronounced. In 2000, 88% of 42-year-olds born to parents owning a home were homeowners, with the share falling to just 81% by 2017.
The social mobility of disadvantaged young people today is undermined by the pandemic, especially those children who lost school hours during the blockade. “If training losses for current generations are not compensated, there appear to be dire consequences for social mobility,” the study said.
It notes that children from the top 20% of the richest families are up to 14 percentage points more likely to have paid teachers to supplement their education than those whose parents have low incomes. This, the report says, is an example of a “bright divide” in the home environment and parental investment, which “does not portend future levels of social mobility”.
Lee Elliott Major, co-author of the study and professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, said: generations. Unless radical action is taken, our research shows that they face deteriorating prospects for mobility. “
Add Comment