Once upon a time, not so long ago, social mobility was an academic thing, and the concern of sociologists in particular. Although the debate around social mobility was played out in academic journals and conferences, it had little impact on the mainstream political conversation. Then something happened. Social mobility became popular.

While the rise of social mobility may have started in the early years of the New Labour government in the late 1990s, it really took off after the global recession of the late 2000s. The relatively poor performance of the UK in terms of social mobility compared to other nations, and the difficulties in penetrating a self-perpetuating professional elite, have now become a preoccupation across the political spectrum. The debate around social mobility in the UK is now starting to resemble a slowburning moral panic (Goode and Ben-Yahuda 2009). The elite are following in the footsteps of muggers, mods and football hooligans as a metaphor through which a wider set of societal anxieties are channelled.

A convenient truth

There are a number of reasons why social mobility has gained such political prominence in recent years.

First, it captures well some of the anxieties that those in the middle class feel about the future of their children (and themselves). Since the 1980s, the middle classes have invested more and more money and effort in cementing their position through education (Ball 2002), and expect a pay-off in access to professional occupations. But when this group becomes concerned about something, then the policy makers listen. And while it might be those further down the socioeconomic ladder for whom social mobility is the biggest challenge, it would never have gained the traction it has in recent years if it had been perceived as a problem purely affecting those from lower socio-economic groups.

Second, it captures some of anger felt at the financial and political elites responsible for the economic recession that began in the late 2000s (Bennet and Kottasz 2012). These elites are perceived as separate and aloof from even the majority of those in professional occupations. And it is the lack of social mobility into this elite that has allowed it to put its own interests first, at the expense of the rest of the population.