The rich /poor divide made the headlines again due to the publication of "Unleashing Aspiration; The final Report of The Panel on Fair Access to the Professions"

From the Guardian

Sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. Britain is an unequal society. The elite look after their own. Poverty traps people from one generation to another. Government action and huge expenditure have at best stopped social division worsening. Encouraging aspiration is hard. And these conclusions, from yesterday's excellent report on access to the professions, sit alongside some startling individual facts.

There are, it reveals, more students of black Caribbean origin at London Metropolitan University than in all the 20 Russell Group universities put together. Only 60 of the 250 schools that run cadet forces, feeding leaders into the army, are in the state sector. The vast majority of graduate recruiters target 20 or fewer university campuses, although there are 109 universities in Britain. While only 7% of pupils are educated privately, 75% of judges went to independent schools, 70% of finance directors, 45% of top civil servants, 32% of MPs - and many journalists, too.

It is uncomfortable to be told such truths; behind its modern veneer, British society is determined by who you know, and who your parents are.

guardian.co.uk