Most state-educated MPs ever in House of Commons
The House of Commons now has more state-educated MPs than at any time in history as Labour plans its VAT raid on private schools.
Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party won more than 400 seats in a landslide win that reduced the Conservatives to fewer than 125 seats.
Almost two thirds (63 per cent) of the 650 MPs who now make up the House of Commons are thought to have gone to a comprehensive school, with three quarters of Labour MPs (73 per cent) going to a state school, according to the Sutton Trust.
This figure rises even further for the expected members of Sir Keir’s Cabinet, given that more than 80 per cent of his shadow cabinet went to a comprehensive.
This is the first time that a Cabinet has been roughly representative of the larger population, where 87 per cent of Britons went to a state school.
Almost half (46 per cent) of current Conservative MPs and 15 per cent of Labour MPs attended independent schools, compared with 41 per cent and 14 per cent respectively in 2019, the Sutton Trust said.
More than 60 per cent of Rishi Sunak’s cabinet is thought to have been privately educated.
There are now only four MPs in the Commons who attended Eton, which has educated a number of British prime ministers – including Boris Johnson and Lord Cameron.
It is likely to add to fears surrounding the future of private education.
The Labour leader and incoming Prime Minister has vowed to impose VAT fees on fee-paying schools – which have long enjoyed tax breaks to raise funds to boost the state education sector – from day one of his new administration.
Critics claim that this will result in some parents being priced out of private school, while others have warned of the potential for school closures.
Nick Harrison, the chief executive of the Sutton Trust, said: “This election represents a sea change in the education backgrounds of the governing party in the new House of Commons, with around three quarters of Labour MPs having attended comprehensive schools.
“The proportion of all MPs educated at comprehensives has also increased markedly, making this Parliament the most representative of the UK’s schooling ever recorded.
“This matters because people are naturally shaped by their background and life experiences, so it’s important for society that our politicians better reflect the reality of the wider population.
“However, there’s still a long way to go before the Commons is truly representative of the 88 per cent of the population who went to comprehensive schools.
“If Parliament is to truly reflect the nation, it’s vital that more is done to enable talented people from all backgrounds to get the opportunity to become MPs.”
The election has also seen the Commons take further steps to be representative of the real world with a more diverse range of MPs than ever before.
Analysis from the think tank British Future found that there are 21 more MPs of ethnic minority heritage than in 2019, up to a record tally of 87.
It is estimated about 13 per cent of MPs – about one in eight – are now ethnically diverse, which is roughly representative of the electorate as a whole (14 per cent).
The majority of the diverse MPs are on Labour’s benches, data show, with 66 of the 87 diverse MPs.
Sunder Katwala, the director of British Future, said: “The 2024 election is a landmark for representation, with record diversity in our parliament, closer than ever to that of the electorate.
“In the space of 40 years we have gone from zero to nearly one in seven MPs being from an ethnic minority background.
“The irony that it coincides with the end of Rishi Sunak’s premiership as the UK’s first British Asian prime minister only underlines how ethnic diversity has become a new norm across the main political parties.
“Better representation doesn’t guarantee better policies on inclusion. Our race debates can often feel as polarised as ever. But a stronger share of voice matters. When the new Commons raises issues of race, ethnic minority MPs will be there to bring their lived experience to the debate.”