The social mobility tsar who yesterday claimed to be resigning in protest over lack of progress had already been told he faced the axe, it emerged last night. Alan Milburn had originally said he had ‘little hope’ Theresa May could deliver change
The social mobility tsar who yesterday claimed to be resigning in protest over lack of progress had already been told he faced the axe, it emerged last night.
Ex-Labour health secretary Alan Milburn said he was quitting as chairman of the Social Mobility Commission because he had ‘little hope’ Theresa May could deliver change.
But last night it emerged that Mr Milburn – picked for the role by former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg – had been warned the Government planned to replace him. A Whitehall source said: ‘Milburn was sacked and is now having a rant on his way out the door.’
Three other commissioners, including former Conservative Cabinet minister Baroness Shephard, also quit.
Yesterday Mr Milburn gave a series of attention-grabbing interviews, accusing Mrs May of failing to deliver on her promise to tackle the ‘burning injustices’ that hold back poorer people.
However, a Government spokesman said that the departures came after Mr Milburn had been told that a new commission chairman was to be appointed to replace him, with an open application process for the role.
In his resignation letter, Mr Milburn said the preoccupation with Brexit meant the Government ‘does not have the necessary bandwidth to ensure the rhetoric of healing social division is matched with the reality’.
He added: ‘I have little hope of the current Government making the progress I believe is necessary to bring about a fairer Britain.
‘It seems unable to commit to the future of the commission as an independent body or to give due priority to the social mobility challenge facing our nation.’
Appearing on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Mr Milburn said that Education Secretary Justine Greening backed his reappointment for a second term in the unpaid role – but she had failed to prevail in Whitehall.
‘I have decided I am not going to re-apply for the job and frankly neither are the other three commissioners,’ he said.
‘There is only so long you can that you can go on pushing water uphill. What is lacking here is meaningful political action to translate very good words into deeds.
‘In the end what counts in politics is not what you talk about, it is what you do.
Last night it emerged that Mr Milburn – picked for the role by former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg – had been warned the Government planned to replace him. A Whitehall source said: ‘Milburn was sacked and is now having a rant on his way out the door.’
‘What is needed is really clear leadership to translate perfectly good words into actions that will make a difference.’
However, Miss Greening, who also appeared on the programme, refused to be drawn on whether she had fought for Mr Milburn’s re-appointment.
She said: ‘He has done a fantastic job but his term had come to an end. I think it was about getting some fresh blood into the commission.’
Miss Greening denied that the Government lacked the will to tackle inequality.
‘What we are doing is a transformational series of policies across government to drive equality of opportunity,’ she said. ‘In my own area, we have set up opportunity areas working inside and outside schools in communities to improve education results. If you look at the school standards overall they are continuing to rise.’
Mr Milburn, who was the Labour MP for Darlington from 1992 until 2010, served in the Cabinet for five years under Tony Blair, first as chief secretary to the Treasury and then health secretary
But she said more needed to be done, adding: ‘I think there is a real problem that we need to fix.
‘Britain is not a country where we have equality of opportunity. Where you grow up affects your future far too much. This is a generational challenge.’
In her letter of resignation to Mrs May, Lady Shephard wrote: ‘I am sad to leave the commission but believe that this moment of change is the right time for me to do so.
‘I send you my warmest good wishes for all that you are doing in such challenging times.’
Mr Milburn, who was the Labour MP for Darlington from 1992 until 2010, served in the Cabinet for five years under Tony Blair, first as chief secretary to the Treasury and then health secretary.
When the quango, originally named the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, was established under the Coalition government in 2012, Mr Milburn was picked by ministers as the chairman.