Analysis of the new Cabinet from the Sutton Trust finds that the
proportion of state educated Cabinet ministers has fallen,
although more Ministers were educated in the North compared to
both the Sunak and Starmer Cabinets.
72% of the new Cabinet went to state comprehensives, 24% attended
private schools. This is despite only 7% of the overall
population attending private schools.
When the Labour government was elected in 2024, the previous
Cabinet was the most representative of the UK ever recorded in
terms of education backgrounds. There were a record number of
state-educated ministers and the lowest proportion of privately
educated ministers since 1945, at 8%.
For the first time, we have also looked at where in the country
ministers were educated. More ministers in Burnham's Cabinet went
to school in the North compared to both the Sunak (19%) and
Starmer (31%) Cabinets. 41% of this Cabinet were educated in the
North of England, while 34% were educated in London and the South
East.
Oxbridge is also significantly overrepresented among at the top
of government, with 55% of Burnham's cabinet attending either
Oxford or Cambridge. This is a substantial increase from 38% in
Keir Starmer's cabinet.
Interestingly, bucks a 90-year trend as a graduate
of the University of Cambridge. Prior to his appointment, every
Prime Minister who had attended an English university since 1937
had attended the University of Oxford (including his predecessor,
, as a post-graduate
student).
Notes:
