Just 10% of Labour's cabinet educated at private schools
The Independent|July 07, 2024
Sir Keir Starmer's new cabinet could be the most representative ever of wider UK society in terms of education, with just 10 per cent having attended private schools.
ANDY GREGORY
Just 10% of Labour's cabinet educated at private schools

Labour stormed to a landslide victory in the general election on Thursday, with Sir Keir expected to announce his shadow cabinet just hours after he was sworn in as prime minister on Friday afternoon.

Based on the make-up of his team while in opposition, analysis suggests that Sir Keir's new cabinet could be the most comprehensively educated in history - and the closest to representing the overall make-up of the UK, where 88 per cent of people attend state schools.

Some 84 per cent of Labour's shadow cabinet attended a state comprehensive school, while 6 per cent went to grammar schools, according to analysis carried out by the Sutton Trust prior to the election.

While Sir Keir may well make further changes to his top team, the 10 per cent figure would be far below the previous record set by Clement Attlee's 1945 cabinet, in which 25 per cent of ministers were privately educated, according to the charity.

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