| Tuesday 17 August 2010 at 10.30pm on BBC Two Presented by Kirsty Wark The chancellor made big, if not promises then assertions, about social mobility today saying he wants "a child born at the end of this period of government to have better life chances than a child born at the beginning of this government if they are born in disadvantaged circumstances." His aims are remarkably similar to those of the last government. But coincidentally, the TUC today released a study which indicates that our performance on social mobility is poor compared with other countries (including Canada, Australia, Denmark, France and Germany), and that social mobility is greatest in societies with low levels of income inequality. So can social mobility be addressed without radical redistributive policies? Or are there other solutions? We will be exploring some big ideas tonight. At least 59 people have been killed in the latest suicide bombing in Iraq. After seven years, US combat operations cease at the end of this month, with remaining troops focussing on training Iraqis. The country's politicians are still arguing over the formation of a new coalition government five months after elections produced no clear result. Tonight we'll be speaking to David Kilcullen, one of the world's leading experts on counterinsurgency, about modern warfare and the future of Iraq. We'll also be back on the Hastings roundabout with Stephen Smith in his quest to foster the 'big society'. He'll catch up with a very famous gardener, and Labour leadership contender, Andy Burnham. Read more on that story and catch up on previous big society films by clicking here. And in the second in our series of interviews with chief executives, I sit down with Michael O'Leary to talk about where he sees future growth in the economy, customer satisfaction, his business model, and removing the lavatories. Watch the first film in that series with the MD of John Lewis, Andy Street, here. Join me tonight at 10.30pm on BBC Two. Kirsty | 
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