So it will be either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt to be Britain's 55th Prime Minister, a decision which will be made by up to 160,000 Tory Party members.
Whilst Johnson is the best candidate for the future of Brexit and to defeat Jeremy Corbyn, if he does get elected he will be yet another Old Etonian PM. One third of Britain's MPs have been Old Etonians...
TONY PARSONS Social mobility? It has always been toff at the top when it comes to No10
COMMENT
Tony Parsons, Sun Columnist
23 Jun 2019
The Sun on Sunday
WHEN and if Boris Johnson wins the Tory leadership contest, he will be the 20th Prime Minister to be *educated at Eton, and the second Old Etonian in just nine years.
Not that Old Etonians always make good Prime Ministers.
When and if Boris Johnson wins the Tory leadership contest, he will be the 20th Prime Minister to be *educated at Eton, and the second Old Etonian in just nine years Credit: Getty Images - Getty
The last one was David Cameron, and lookwhat a national catastrophe he turned out to be.
For anyone who cares about social mobility, the depressing news is that 10 Downing Street is reserved for toffs. Boris will only be our 55th Prime Minister since the very first, Robert Walpole, who was in office from 1721 to 1742.
The fact that more than a third of them went to Eton (including Walpole), suggests that social mobility in this country is in terminal decline.
Indeed, when it comes to the children of ordinary homes reaching the highest office in the land, social mobility is stone-cold dead.
Between 1964 and 1997, there was enough healthy social mobility in this country for Harold Wilson, Ted Heath, Jim Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher and John Major — all educated at state schools — to become Prime Minister. Credit: Getty - Contributor
The fact that more than a third of all our PMs went to Eton suggests that social mobility in this country is in terminal decline Credit: Refer to Source - Alamy
Fee-paying privilege provides the fast-track to power. Yet it wasn’t always this way.
There was a golden age of *meritocracy in the last century when it was normal for our PMs to be educated by the state.
Eton was still a bastion of academic excellence in those happy years. So was Harrow, which has produced seven Prime Ministers, and Westminster, which educated six.
But between 1964 and 1997, there was enough healthy social mobility in this country for Harold Wilson, Ted Heath, Jim Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher and John Major — all educated at state schools — to become Prime Minister.
'BEAT THEM TO THE JOB'
Major and Callaghan didn’t even go to university. Callaghan couldn’t afford it, while Major left school at 15 with three O-levels.
All five came from modest *backgrounds, although Wilson, Heath and Thatcher were clever enough to get into Oxford University.
For more than three decades, state-educated politicians competed with those who were the product of expensive private educations — and beat them to the top job.
This is not an argument against Boris Johnson becoming Prime *Minister simply because he went to Eton. Boris seems like the man most likely to prevent a Marxist government. This would destroy our economy — a fate far worse than either staying in or leaving the European Union.
Not all Old Etonians make good Prime Ministers Credit: Splash News
Despite being an Old Etonian, Boris Johnson is still the best bet to take on Brussels, Corbyn and the Brexit Party Credit: PA
ress Association
So if I was a Tory MP or party member, then I would probably prefer Boris to take on Brussels, Corbyn and the Brexit Party.
But yet another old Etonian in 10 Downing Street proves that social mobility is nowhere near what it was in the last century. And if we care about a fair and equal society, then that should concern us all.
It feels significant that the first candidate to be eliminated from the Tory leadership race was Esther McVey — the candidate from the least privileged background, reinforcing the belief that Westminster is a closed shop.
'IT SHOULD NOT MATTER A DAMN WHERE YOU WERE BORN'
But when it comes to getting on in life, and even getting to Downing Street, it should not matter a damn where you were born.
Your ability — and your willingness to graft — should matter far more than Mummy and Daddy’s bank *balance.
Life can never be totally fair. But two Old Etonian PMs in less than ten years is grotesque. If there is to be a bright, shining future for this country after we leave the EU, there MUST be more social mobility.
Once he has sorted out Brexit and buried Corbyn, perhaps our Old *Etonian PM will do something about it. Because inequality is still entrenched at birth.
And that stinks.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9352728/social-mobility-toff-at-top-no10/
Whilst Johnson is the best candidate for the future of Brexit and to defeat Jeremy Corbyn, if he does get elected he will be yet another Old Etonian PM. One third of Britain's MPs have been Old Etonians...
TONY PARSONS Social mobility? It has always been toff at the top when it comes to No10
COMMENT
Tony Parsons, Sun Columnist
23 Jun 2019
The Sun on Sunday
WHEN and if Boris Johnson wins the Tory leadership contest, he will be the 20th Prime Minister to be *educated at Eton, and the second Old Etonian in just nine years.
Not that Old Etonians always make good Prime Ministers.
When and if Boris Johnson wins the Tory leadership contest, he will be the 20th Prime Minister to be *educated at Eton, and the second Old Etonian in just nine years Credit: Getty Images - Getty
The last one was David Cameron, and lookwhat a national catastrophe he turned out to be.
For anyone who cares about social mobility, the depressing news is that 10 Downing Street is reserved for toffs. Boris will only be our 55th Prime Minister since the very first, Robert Walpole, who was in office from 1721 to 1742.
The fact that more than a third of them went to Eton (including Walpole), suggests that social mobility in this country is in terminal decline.
Indeed, when it comes to the children of ordinary homes reaching the highest office in the land, social mobility is stone-cold dead.
Between 1964 and 1997, there was enough healthy social mobility in this country for Harold Wilson, Ted Heath, Jim Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher and John Major — all educated at state schools — to become Prime Minister. Credit: Getty - Contributor
The fact that more than a third of all our PMs went to Eton suggests that social mobility in this country is in terminal decline Credit: Refer to Source - Alamy
Fee-paying privilege provides the fast-track to power. Yet it wasn’t always this way.
There was a golden age of *meritocracy in the last century when it was normal for our PMs to be educated by the state.
Eton was still a bastion of academic excellence in those happy years. So was Harrow, which has produced seven Prime Ministers, and Westminster, which educated six.
But between 1964 and 1997, there was enough healthy social mobility in this country for Harold Wilson, Ted Heath, Jim Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher and John Major — all educated at state schools — to become Prime Minister.
'BEAT THEM TO THE JOB'
Major and Callaghan didn’t even go to university. Callaghan couldn’t afford it, while Major left school at 15 with three O-levels.
All five came from modest *backgrounds, although Wilson, Heath and Thatcher were clever enough to get into Oxford University.
For more than three decades, state-educated politicians competed with those who were the product of expensive private educations — and beat them to the top job.
This is not an argument against Boris Johnson becoming Prime *Minister simply because he went to Eton. Boris seems like the man most likely to prevent a Marxist government. This would destroy our economy — a fate far worse than either staying in or leaving the European Union.
Not all Old Etonians make good Prime Ministers Credit: Splash News
Despite being an Old Etonian, Boris Johnson is still the best bet to take on Brussels, Corbyn and the Brexit Party Credit: PA
ress AssociationSo if I was a Tory MP or party member, then I would probably prefer Boris to take on Brussels, Corbyn and the Brexit Party.
But yet another old Etonian in 10 Downing Street proves that social mobility is nowhere near what it was in the last century. And if we care about a fair and equal society, then that should concern us all.
It feels significant that the first candidate to be eliminated from the Tory leadership race was Esther McVey — the candidate from the least privileged background, reinforcing the belief that Westminster is a closed shop.
'IT SHOULD NOT MATTER A DAMN WHERE YOU WERE BORN'
But when it comes to getting on in life, and even getting to Downing Street, it should not matter a damn where you were born.
Your ability — and your willingness to graft — should matter far more than Mummy and Daddy’s bank *balance.
Life can never be totally fair. But two Old Etonian PMs in less than ten years is grotesque. If there is to be a bright, shining future for this country after we leave the EU, there MUST be more social mobility.
Once he has sorted out Brexit and buried Corbyn, perhaps our Old *Etonian PM will do something about it. Because inequality is still entrenched at birth.
And that stinks.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9352728/social-mobility-toff-at-top-no10/
