Sir Keir Starmer’s new cabinet mostly attended state comprehensive schools, with only one minister having attended private school. This means it is, to a large extent, representative of UK society.
A total of 23 cabinet ministers (92 per cent) were educated at comprehensive schools, while Sir Keir attended a grammar school and transport secretary Louise Haigh attended the private Sheffield High School, according to analysis by the Sutton Trust.
CF Chair, Dr Nuala Burgess, said, “It’s no surprise to see so many of the cabinet with a comprehensive school background. The idea that a private or grammar school education is necessary to succeed is a nonsense. Comprehensive schools teach the same exams, give the same opportunities, and have added benefits of delivering a well-rounded education which allows young people to mix with others from a variety of backgrounds. We hope that the new shadow cabinet will fully support inclusive schools by providing the funding and policies to allow our state schools to thrive. Now, more than ever, we need a properly thought out and generously funded state education system.”
Labour’s new cabinet is the most comprehensively educated cabinet in history and the closest to representing the overall makeup of the UK. Among the UK population 7% attended private schools, while the figure for Labour’s cabinet is 4%. However, among all elected MPs 23% attended private schools.
As one Twitter commentator pointed out, “There are more members of the current cabinet who went to Parrs Wood High School than attended Eton!”
Keir Starmer has spoken of being “proud” of the educational backgrounds of his cabinet. “I’m really proud of the fact that my cabinet reflects the aspiration that I believe lies at the heart of our country,” he said. “I’m proud of the fact that we have people around that cabinet table who didn’t have the easiest of starts in life. To see them sitting in the cabinet this morning was a proud moment for me.”
Nick Harrison, Chief Executive of the Sutton Trust, said, “This Cabinet is the most diverse in terms of education background ever recorded. It represents real progress towards smashing the class ceiling in politics, and it’s the closest to genuinely reflect the proportion of Brits who went to comprehensive schools.”
The Sutton Trust has analysed the educational backgrounds of all MPs in the Commons. Find out where MPs went to school and university in the full breakdown on their website.
