Setback for PM as social mobility tsar Alan Milburn resigns over ‘unfair’ Britain

Theresa May has suffered a further blow with the social mobility tsar’s departure from government, saying she is failing to deliver on her promise to build a fairer Britain.

Alan Milburn, a former Labor minister and close ally of Tony Blair, has resigned as chairman of the Social Mobility Commission, alongside his Conservative deputy, former minister Baroness Shephard.

In his resignation letterMr Milburn says the handling of Brexit means the government “does not appear to have the bandwidth to ensure the rhetoric of healing social divisions matches reality”.

He added: “I have little hope that the current government will make the progress that I believe is necessary to achieve a fairer Britain.

“He appears unable to commit to the future of the commission as an independent body or to properly prioritize the social mobility challenge our nation faces.”

A friend of Baroness Shephard, a former Conservative education secretary and ally of Sir John Major, told the Sunday Times: “Gillian is furious at the way the commission has been treated.”

The resignations come as the Prime Minister is already under enormous political pressure, as she faces crucial Brexit negotiations in the coming days and questions over the future of her most senior minister, Damian Green .

In his attack on the Prime Minister, Mr Milburn said: “The worst position in politics is to make a proposition that you are going to heal social divisions and do nothing about it. It’s almost best to never say you’re going to do it. anything about it.

“It is disappointing to say the least that the government has not taken the lead as it should to resolve these structural problems which are leading to social division and political alienation in the country.

“In America, real average incomes have remained stable for 30 years. Here the Chancellor predicts that this will last 20 years. This has a consequence for people, but also a political consequence. It means more anger, more resentment and creates fertile ground for populism.

Mr Milburn also accuses government ministers of abandoning voters who supported Brexit and doing nothing to ease the grievances that led to the referendum vote.

In a statement, the government said it had already informed Mr Milburn “that we plan to appoint a new president”, adding that it was “committed to fighting injustice”.

He said: “We recognize that there is still much to do and that is why we are focusing our efforts on deprived areas where we can make the biggest difference.”

The Social Mobility Commission’s annual report, published on Tuesday, reveals that Britain has 65 “cold” areas where social mobility is limited, of which 60 voted to leave the EU.

At the current rate, it would take 15 years to close the skills gap between rich and poor at age five, 20 years for wages to return to the same level in real terms as before the crash, 80 years to close the skills gap between the rich and the poor at age five. gap in participation rates in higher education.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Mr Milburn said: “There has been indecision, dysfunction and a lack of leadership.”

And he compares the commission’s attempts to tackle the problem to government inaction as “raising water to the top.”

As well as Baroness Shephard, other commissioners who have resigned include Paul Gregg, professor of economic and social policy at the University of Bath, and David Johnston, chief executive of the Social Mobility Foundation.

The mass resignation is hugely embarrassing for the Prime Minister, who began his term with a speech on the steps of Downing Street pledging to tackle the “burning injustices” holding back the poor and non-white people.

She said “the mission of the government I lead” would be “to make Britain a country that works not for the privileged few, but for all of us”.

But Mr Milburn told the Sunday Times: “The Prime Minister has spoken a lot about his desire to improve social mobility. Talk is all well and good, but we also need action.

“I don’t see any chance of progress. They are so preoccupied with Brexit that they don’t have the opportunity to concentrate on all that.”

Mr Milburn says the government needs to do more to tackle “fault lines in education”, low pay and housing if it is to boost social mobility.

He warns that the people who will suffer will be precisely the voters who voted for Brexit and who had legitimate grievances about their life chances.

In response to the resignations, shadow cabinet minister Jon Trickett, a Labor MP, said: “While inequality has widened under the Tories, social mobility has completely stalled. Theresa May rewarded the rich while holding back everyone else. The Social Mobility Commission resigned in frustration.

“Under the Conservatives, people’s success in life still depends on their social affiliation rather than their talent or effort.

“Work will change our country so that it benefits the many, not the few.”

These resignations would come after a confrontation between the government and the commission over support for its work.

Justine Greening, the education secretary, reportedly fought for Mr Milburn’s term to be extended, but Downing Street refused to commit.