Rather than obsess about lack of aspiration, it is the lack of social capital that we should be focusing on.
Across this half-century, from Scarman after Brixton to MacPherson after Stephen Lawrence, governments have engaged only sporadically engaged with race.
If the Conservatives had won 42 per cent from them too, our research projects that she would have won with a comfortable 42-seat majority.
David Lammy and the Social Mobility Commission both made a big splash on the basis of weak evidence and flawed assumptions.
The idea that all groups should have the same outcomes is just an update of the old socialist idea of equality of outcome – ignoring the choices that individuals make.
Over time, proposals have either been denounced as politically correct nonsense, or embraced with an enthusiastic “me, too”-ism. Neither approach is exactly rigorous.
The Speaker’s recent report on improving equality in Parliament makes some proposals which are irrelevant at best.
One party cannot have a monopoly on BAME voters. Competition breeds excellence, and if we want excellent BAME policies, we need politicians competing for our votes.