Department stores John Lewis and Marks and Spencer have been joined by mobile phones giant Vodafone in signing up to the Social Mobility Pledge.

Visit any company in the UK and you will see people working to make more of their lives for themselves and their families. They are there because at some point, someone took a risk and started their own business, which now creates opportunity for others.

Improving our poor social mobility is this country’s biggest challenge, and our biggest opportunity. Britain will not truly succeed until it becomes a country where there is equality of opportunity for the first time.

Talent is evenly spread across the UK, but opportunity isn’t. That is a, frankly, depressing fact and for too long governments of all colours have been unable to rectify it.