Fair opportunities

The principle in detail

Equalising opportunity requires more than removing the multiple existing barriers to education or work (like low levels of skills development or insufficient private-sector job creation, or wide regional economic imbalances). High levels of socio-economic inequality mean that people’s starting points in life are too different – there is no level playing field, and it is impossible to correct for this without tackling the underlying inequalities, so that everyone has access to good education, healthcare, housing, jobs and nature, and a decent quality of life. And success in life shouldn’t require people to ‘make it’ by earning a huge salary, especially in a society where wealth is a more important driver of wellbeing and living standards than income (a trend being accelerated by AI).

Where we are today

Today in Britain, disadvantaged children are 19 months behind their peers at GCSE, are 42% less likely to go to university, and are 52% less likely than the privately educated to become a high earner if they graduate.

What the public think

65% of Britons are concerned about unequal opportunities to accumulate wealth, while 62% think children from richer families have better educational opportunities; only 35% think everyone has a fair chance in life.

What to do about it

Policy solutions to the absence of fair opportunities in the UK overlap with those under ‘fair essentials’, alongside broader investment in public services to ensure that no one is left behind.