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Michael Gove: Number of Etonians in Cameron's cabinet is 'preposterous'
Michael Gove: Number of Etonians in Cameron's cabinet is 'preposterous'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education...posterous.html
Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, has criticised the "preposterous" number of Old Etonians in David Cameron's inner circle.
Mr Gove, the adopted son of an Aberdeen fish processor, said that a similar concentration of privilege running the country does not exist in “any other developed economy”.
Mr Cameron and four of his most trusted aides went to Eton, while more than half of the Cabinet are privately educated.
The future leadership of the Tory Party is also likely to be privately educated, with a battle between Boris Johnson, who attended Eton, and Mr Osborne, who attended St Paul’s.
Mr Gove stressed that the number of Etonians at the top of Mr Cameron’s government reflected the historic failings of the state system, adding that it would be “silly” to “blame the individuals concerned”.
However, Labour last night seized on his comments to criticise the Tories for failing to “reflect the country” and being “out of touch”.
In an interview in the Financial Times, Mr Gove compared Mr Cameron’s team and cabinet to that of the Eton Educated former Tory Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, who was heavily criticised for nepotism.
Mr Gove attended a state primary before receiving a scholarship to go to a fee paying school.
He said: “At the beginning of the 20th century, the Conservative cabinet was called Hotel Cecil. The phrase ‘Bob’s your uncle’ came about and all the rest of it. It is preposterous.”
Mr Gove, who this month became the first Tory education minister to send his children to a state secondary, said he hopes that future Prime Ministers will be able to choose from a wider pool of talent.
He said that every child should be the “author of their own life story” and have the chance to get to the top.
“It doesn’t make me feel personally uncomfortable because I like each of the individuals concerned, but it is ridiculous. I don't know where you can find some such similar situation in a developed economy.
“I don’t blame any of the individuals concerned, that would be equally silly. But it’s a function of the fact that, as we pointed out a couple of years ago, more boys from Eton went to Oxford and Cambridge than boys eligible for free school meals.”
While loyal to Mr Cameron, Mr Gove is understood to be supportive of George Osborne as a future Tory leader and has allegedly briefed against Mr Johnson’s credentials.
In his interview, Mr Gove described Mr Osborne as “brilliant” and “consistently underrated”. He insisted he was a “fan” of Mr Johnson, who he praised for having a “very coherent world view”.
Mr Gove said he does not have leadership ambitions himself because he believes he lacks “star quality”.
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Originally Posted by Graham
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