Social mobility has increased in past decades, but there has been no ‘revolution’ in opportunity

Many commentators are deeply concerned that the government’s current programme of austerity cuts will promote inequality and hurt social mobility. But how much do we really know about social mobility in the past 20 years? Gavin Kelly of the Resolution Foundation looks at new research which finds that some important, if modest, gains have been made that, while not exactly leading to an opportunity revolution, provide a welcome tonic to the conventional pessimism that characterises the mainstream discourse.