Is the era of social mobility and meritocracy over – assuming it was ever real? With Old Etonians commanding top acting roles (as well as political ones), private school looking like a passport to success for almost all the seven per cent of Britons who attend and many young people only able to buy a home via the bank of mother and father, is there any social mobility? And if not, are there ways to improve the life chances of young people born into less privileged backgrounds? Speakers: Chair: Margaret Heffernan, Simon Burgess (University of Bristol), Paul Johnson (Institute for Fiscal Studies), Abigail McKnight (LSE), Kimberley Scharf (University of Warwick)