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Class holds people back - Harman Class holds people back - Harman
(about 4 hours later)
Equalities minister Harriet Harman will say in a speech that social class is more important than gender, race or disability in affecting life chances. Class is more important than gender or race in affecting life chances, Harriet Harman has said in a speech.
Referring to a government-commissioned report out next week, she will say it shows how inequality carries from "one generation to the next". A government-commissioned report out next week, will show how inequality carries from "one generation to the next", the equalities minister said.
It is expected to show Britain remains unequal after 12 years of Labour rule. She blamed the 1990s Tory government for a "vast legacy of inequality".
For the Conservatives, Theresa May said it was a recognition that "inequality has got worse under Labour". But her Conservative shadow Theresa May said social mobility had "stalled" over 12 years of Labour rule and inequality had "got worse" since 1997.
But she accused Ms Harman - who is also deputy Labour leader - of reaching for "the old-fashioned response of class war". Ms Harman, who is also deputy Labour leader, gave a speech to the left-leaning think tank Compass in which she referred to the report by Professor John Hills of the London School of Economics - due to be published next week.
Life expectancy Family background
Ms Harman will give a speech to the left-leaning think tank Compass at 1700 GMT, in which she will refer to the report by Professor John Hills of the London School of Economics. She said: "Equality must, of course, mean the absence of discrimination on grounds of race, gender, faith, sexual orientation, disability and age.
"But we also know that overarching and interwoven with these strands is the persistent inequality of social class - your family background and where you were born."
All she can do is reach for the old-fashioned response of class war Theresa MayConservatives
It follows remarks by her cabinet colleague John Denham that disadvantage in the UK was now more closely linked to poverty, class and identity than ethnicity - seen as a response to the successes of the BNP with white working class voters.
The report is expected to say that poorer children are less ready to learn when they start school than those from richer families and will do worse throughout the education system.The report is expected to say that poorer children are less ready to learn when they start school than those from richer families and will do worse throughout the education system.
The public want an equal society, one where there is not a yawning and growing gap between the bottom and top Harriet Harman
It will also point to statistics suggesting people in the richest parts of the country live 13 years longer, on average, than those in poorer areas.It will also point to statistics suggesting people in the richest parts of the country live 13 years longer, on average, than those in poorer areas.
Ms Harman will say the report will "clearly document for the first time how inequality is cumulative over an individual's lifetime and is carried from one generation to the next". Gender pay gap
And she will say: "Persistent inequality of socio-economic status, of class, overarches the discrimination or disadvantage that can come from your gender, race or disability." Ms Harman said it would show that "public policy intervention works and has played a major role in halting the rise in inequality which was gaining ground in the 1980s".
'One-dimensional approach' She said without her government's actions, inequality would have been worse and that they had been successful in stopping "substantial growth in income inequality" and narrowing pay differences between men and women.
It follows remarks by her cabinet colleague John Denham that disadvantage in the UK was now more closely linked to poverty, class and identity than ethnicity - seen as a response to the successes of the BNP with white working class voters. She said voters at the next general election faced a choice between a Conservative government which, she said, would "turn the tide on making Britain fairer" and Labour which "recognises the challenge of inequality" and has "the policies to tackle it".
Ms Harman will say a more equal society is "essential for the future" adding: "The public want an equal society, one where there is not a yawning and growing gap between the bottom and top." But for the Conservatives, Theresa May said Ms Harman's speech was a recognition that "inequality has got worse under Labour".
She is currently trying to get her Equality Bill - which would impose a responsibility on local authorities to tackle social inequality - through Parliament but it is facing resistance in the House of Lords. "All she can do is reach for the old-fashioned response of class war," she said.
Ms May, her Conservative shadow, said social mobility had "stalled" over the past 12 years and it had become harder to escape poverty. "Over the last 12 years social mobility has stalled, so it is even harder to escape poverty. Labour's failure has been a result of their one-dimensional approach.
"Labour's failure has been a result of their one-dimensional approach," she said.
"Unlike Labour, we will deal with the causes of poverty and inequality, including educational failure, family breakdown and worklessness.""Unlike Labour, we will deal with the causes of poverty and inequality, including educational failure, family breakdown and worklessness."
Ms Harman is currently trying to get her Equality Bill - which would impose a responsibility on local authorities to tackle social inequality - through Parliament, but it is facing resistance in the House of Lords.