A far greater percentage of Anthony Albanese’s ministers went to private schools than UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s did, a researcher tells Crikey.
When Starmer swore in his ministry earlier this month, it was noted for its diversity in educational backgrounds: 92% were educated at comprehensive schools, i.e. non-selective schools roughly equivalent to public schools in Australia.
Only one Labour minister went to an independent school, and only one — Starmer — attended a grammar school, according to the educational charity Sutton Trust.
“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,” Sutton Trust chief executive Nick Harrison said in a statement.
By contrast, 52% of Albanese’s cabinet went to a Catholic or independent secondary school, Murdoch University School of Education associate lecturer Jen Featch told Crikey.
Featch, who analysed the Albanese ministry’s education backgrounds as part of her PhD research, said that in the years when most Labor ministers attended secondary school, the ratio of Australians who went to government schools compared to non-government schools would have been about 9:1.
“Not all non-government schools are elite, and not all elite schools are non-government. [But] very few were attending private schools in those days, so you can see that we don’t have that representation of working-class and lower-socioeconomic communities in cabinet,” Featch said.
“Those who have attended non-government schools are still landing the top jobs. You could argue that if everyone got there by merit, the ratio would mirror wider society.”
Across Parliament, Labor politicians were more likely to have attended a public secondary school than Coalition MPs. Among Labor MPs, 41% attended public schools, compared to only 23% of Coalition MPs.
“The differences with the UK are definitely there and in many ways it is remarkable that Starmer has pulled together a cabinet populated almost completely from government schools,” Featch said “The irony being that Starmer didn’t attend one and went on to study at Oxford. [It’s a] different system over there, of course: [they have] first past the post voting and their upper house of Parliament is not an elected one.”
According to Featch’s research, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles went to the most expensive school of anyone in Parliament, at a cost of $46,344 for Year 12. Education Minister Jason Clare went to the cheapest, a public school with voluntary contributions of $186 per year.
Are you concerned that so many Labor ministers attended fee-paying schools? Let us know your thoughts by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
