Podcasts

In this episode of Policy Matters, hosts Matt Dickson and Franz Buscha talk to Sam Friedman, Associate Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and a member of the Social Mobility Commission. Sam explains his recent research highlighting how those from working class backgrounds find themselves earning less than colleagues from more privileged families, even when they have the same qualifications and work in the same elite professions. Going beyond the numbers to understand this ‘class pay gap’, Sam describes the numerous interviews he undertook with elite professionals from different backgrounds and what this revealed about the hidden mechanisms that operate, often rewarding privilege rather than merit or ability. The discussion then moves on to the dominance of private schools – and especially a particular group of private schools – in the elite strata of society and considers the sorts of policies that might help to make Britain a more meritocratic society.

With the Supreme Court weighing up the prorogation of Parliament, political commentator Mike Indian considers where the power lies in our parliamentary democracy and how MPs should behave if they disagree with their constituents. He ponders whether the UK would be better off with a written constitution and, with the publication of his memoirs, believes that David Cameron is the last gasp of a bygone political era.