Liz Truss in her capacity as Minister for Women and Equalities has appointed seven new members to the Social Mobility Commission board. Guido is pleasantly surprised by some of the names on the list.

The individuals appointed are: Matthew Goodwin, Dr Raghib Ali, Resham Kotecha, Ryan Henson, Rob Henderson, Parminder Kohli, and Rob Wilson. Goodwin is a particularly sound appointment. The team joins chair of the commission Katharine Birbalsingh, who was appointed in October, with their responsibilities including writing an annual report into social mobility across the UK, challenging employers over social mobility amongst the workforce, and providing advice to ministers on how to improve social mobility.

Other appointees’ CVs include:

• Raghib Ali: Doctor who showed Racism did not cause excess ethnic minority Covid deaths. See here: 
• Resham Kotecha: Former Tory parliamentary candidate for the Tories and head of engagement for women2win.
• Ryan Henson: Former Tory parliamentary candidate and self-described ‘Conservative campaigner’
• Rob Henderson: Yale graduate, US military veteran and Cambridge PhD student who has lambasted ‘white privilege’
• Parminder Kohli: Shell oil executive. Unlike most people on quangos, might know a thing or two about creating jobs and attracting investment.  
• Rob Wilson: Former Tory MP

Truss says:

“Everyone in the UK should have the freedom to reach their full potential. These appointments are a positive step forward for equality in this country as we strive to improve social mobility and ensure everyone has the chance to succeed. The combined expertise and experience of the new Commissioners will help the SMC to carry out its important work to ensure a person’s circumstances of birth do not determine outcomes in life.”

This may be a sign of things to come. Read the full announcement here.