The higher education backgrounds of Andy Burnham’s new Cabinet
This blog was kindly authored by Freddie Pflanz who is a current HEPI intern and master’s student in Philosophy at the University of Oxford.
As Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister, more than half of his new Cabinet have undergraduate degrees from Oxford or Cambridge and nearly nine in ten attended a Russell Group university. HEPI takes a look at what, and where, each member of the new Cabinet studied.
Key numbers include:
- 93% of the Cabinet went to university.
- 54% of the Cabinet received undergraduate degrees from Oxford or Cambridge.
- 86% of the Cabinet received undergraduate degrees from Russell Group universities.
Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) is the most common degree course, with six members of the Cabinet having studied it.In total, 16 Cabinet members (57%) studied Politics, either as a single or joint honours degree.
Only one member of the Cabinet (new Secretary of State for Education Lucy Powell) studied a science subject for their undergraduate degree. This comes at the same time as Burnham has merged the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology into a new Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, and the scientist Sir Patrick Vallance has left his post as Minister of State for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear.
Compared to Keir Starmer’s first Cabinet, the proportions of Cabinet members who attended Oxbridge, and the proportion who attended a Russell Group university have both increased. The Oxbridge proportion has increased from 29% to 54%, and the Russell Group proportion has increased from 73% to 86%. Furthermore, the proportion of Cabinet ministers who attended Oxbridge is higher than in a number of recent Conservative Cabinets, including David Cameron’s 2015, Theresa May’s 2017 and Boris Johnson’s 2019 Cabinets.
The table below sets out the details of the undergraduate education of each member of the Cabinet.
| Position | Name | First degree awarding institution | First degree subject |
| Prime Minister | Andy Burnham | Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge | English |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | John Healey | Christ’s College, University of Cambridge | Social and Political Sciences |
| Foreign Secretary | Ed Miliband | Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford | PPE |
| Home Secretary | Shabana Mahmood | Lincoln College, University of Oxford | Law |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Louise Haigh | University of Nottingham | Politics |
| Defence Secretary | Wes Streeting | Selwyn College, University of Cambridge | History |
| Justice Secretary & Lord Chancellor | Alex Norris | University of Nottingham | Politics and History |
| Housing Secretary | Angela Rayner | None | None |
| Health Secretary | Yvette Cooper | Balliol College, University of Oxford | PPE |
| Education Secretary | Lucy Powell | King’s College London | Chemistry |
| Energy Secretary | Miatta Fahnbulleh | Lincoln College, University of Oxford | PPE |
| Work and Pensions Secretary | Pat McFadden | University of Edinburgh | Politics |
| Business Secretary | Jonathan Reynolds | University of Manchester | Politics and Modern History |
| Transport Secretary | Heidi Alexander | Durham University | Geography |
| Environment Secretary | Angela Eagle | St John’s College, University of Oxford | PPE |
| Culture Secretary | Lisa Nandy | Newcastle University | Politics |
| Northern Ireland Secretary | Chris Bryant | Mansfield College, University of Oxford | English |
| Scotland Secretary | Douglas Alexander | University of Edinburgh | Politics and Modern History |
| Wales Secretary | Stephen Kinnock | Queens’ College, University of Cambridge | Modern Languages |
| Leader of the Commons | Alan Campbell | Lancaster University | Politics |
| Leader of the Lords | Baroness Smith of Basildon | Leicester Polytechnic | Public Administration |
| Chief Whip in the Commons | Annaliese Midgley | None | None |
| Women and Equalities Minister | Bridget Phillipson | Hertford College, University of Oxford | History |
| Chief Secretary to the Treasury | Emma Reynolds | Wadham College, University of Oxford | PPE |
| Attorney General | Ellie Reeves | St Catherine’s College, University of Oxford | Law |
| AI Minister | Kanishka Narayan | Balliol College, University of Oxford | PPE |
| Intergovernmental and European Relations Minister | Hamish Falconer | St John’s College, University of Cambridge | Human, Social, and Political Sciences |
| Housing and Planning Minister | Matthew Pennycook | London School of Economics | History and International Relations |
Comments
Roderick Floud says:
It would be illuminating to know the schools attended. There is a big difference between people who got into Oxbridge from the local comprehensive and those who did so from Eton.
Reply
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