What does it take to make it in modern Britain? Ask a politician, and they’ll tell you it’s hard work. Ask a millionaire, and they’ll tell you it’s talent. Ask a CEO, and they’ll tell you it’s dedication. But what if none of those things is enough?

We live in a society where the single greatest indicator of what your job will be is the job of your parents. Where power and privilege are concentrated among the seven per cent of the population who were privately educated. Where, if your name sounds black or Asian, you’ll need to send out twice as many job applications as your white neighbour.

Raised on benefits and having attended some of the lowest-performing schools in the country, barrister Hashi Mohamed knows something about social mobility. He shares what he has learned: from the stark statistics that reveal the depth of the problem to the failures of imagination, education and confidence that compound it.

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Festival of Ideas: Hashi Mohamed, What does it take to make it in modern Britain?