Students across the UK are expressing divided opinions on proposed reforms to civil service internships, bringing to light issues of social mobility and representation in government positions. The event features up-and-coming scholarship from top-tier universities. Their different backgrounds and experiences inform their unique perspectives on these changes.
Climate justice ambassador Hannah Begum is a 20-year-old student of politics and international relations at the London School of Economics (LSE). She has fought hard to make her opposition to the reforms heard. She was born in Yorkshire to a self-employed handyman and a self-employed part-time community worker mother. Today, she advocates for government roles to actually mirror and understand what most people go through. “Most people in this country are not in high socio-economic classes,” she stated. “We need people in government that reflect those exact people.”
For Nell Ashworth, a 21-year-old social policy student at the University of York, it goes a step further. She joined us from King’s Lynn. Her parents were the first in their respective families to go to college. Her mother had a career in nursing, her father as a municipal planner in post-war neighborhood rejuvenations. Ashworth is worried the reforms will unintentionally exclude those outside the socio-economic bubble. “There’s me in the middle, not rich or poor, so where do I go? And then that puts me off working in the civil service because now I have no idea who’s looking out for me,” she explained.
Peter Murphy is an undergraduate reading History at the University of Cambridge. He has deep personal ties to the issues at stake. His father had immigrated from Ireland, and he was the first in his family to attend college. At the same time, his grandfather was a shop-fitter in Dublin. Murphy expressed this concern in clear terms, especially about the barriers to entry that the reforms were seen to create. “I got quite angry at that moment because it feels like the rug has been pulled from under me,” he said.
Adam Allen (20) Adam is an undergraduate student studying sociology and criminology at Warwick University. As a member of The 93% Club, he brings an invaluable insider perspective on how British universities can better support students from state schools. Both his parents had not gone to university and both lived through inconsistencies with jobs during Allen’s early life. He voiced optimism that the changes would make things more equitable for candidates that come after him. “It needs to be taken into account that not everyone has the same privileges in terms of being able to get a job in government,” he remarked. “It just means a bit more of an equal chance.”
The students’ worries resonate with larger systemic challenges to opportunity and representation in civil service occupations. We all agree that unless these barriers are overcome, talented, equipped individuals will continue to be cut off from opportunities to serve in government. Murphy expressed his fears about this disconnect: “I’m worried a lot of bright people are becoming very disconnected from civil society and we’re fracturing into a nation where people are content to be rich and live in their little ivory towers.”
Ashworth studied social policy because her goal is to become a member of the UK civil service. She was a powerful voice reiterating the value of having representation in government. “It just smacks to me as socially destructive, that people feel that they’re not being taken on their merits,” she stated.
Needless to say, students have been enthusiastically debating these reforms. They have indisputably demonstrated their desire for greater equity in access to civil service employment. The potential rule changes have sparked some lively conversations. To that end, they stress the importance of creating clear and accessible pathways into government service for individuals of all socio-economic statuses. Begum summarized this need succinctly: “We’re not going to get those people in government if we don’t create the stepping stones in order for them to enter.”
