The government must do more to “widen ladders of opportunity, smash glass ceilings and back the British underdog” says Conservative MP Dominic Raab in his new pamphlet The Meritocrat’s Manifesto, to be published by the Social Market Foundation (SMF) think tank on Wednesday 11th June.
Raab outlines a radical agenda for the centre-right aimed at strengthening social fairness during a time of austerity. Spanning schools reform, vocational training, non-graduate routes into the professions, entrepreneurial avenues, tax and regulatory reform, home ownership, social enterprises and immigration, The Meritocrat’s Manifesto sets out a range of policy proposals aimed at enabling greater meritocracy and increasing social mobility. In addition, Raab offers ideas on holding business and political elites to account, with the aim of mending the public’s perception of those in public life.
Dominic Raab MP commented:
“For youngsters today, the ladders of opportunity in Britain have been eroded compared to the postwar generation. At a time of turbulent global change and austerity at home, we need a stronger vision of a fair society, grounded in meritocratic principles, to revive social mobility. We need to make sure that talented youngsters with humble roots have a better shot of making a success of themselves, based on their talents and hard graft. And, going into the next election, the Conservatives need to make themselves the party of the aspirational underdog.”
Commenting on the pamphlet, SMF Director, Emran Mian said:
“Dominic Raab’s pamphlet attempts to level up the rewards for those whose merits are not recognised sufficiently and to level down the rewards for those whose merits are over-compensated. His purpose here is to craft a centre-right vision for combating inequality, which he does by first defining why inequality matters, remembering the importance of liberty and then describing a policy agenda which makes some progress on the former without offending the latter.”
Notes to Editors:
- The Meritocrat’s Manifesto will be launched at the Social Market Foundation on Wednesday 11 June 2014. Details are available here.
- The Social Market Foundation is a leading independent UK think tank which develops innovative ideas across a broad range of economic and social policy, champions policy ideas which marry markets with social justice and takes a pro-market rather than free-market approach. smf.jynk.net
