Overall, of the 650 MPs returned to the House of Commons following last week’s general election, a record 63% were educated at comprehensive school. Within the ruling Labour Party, this figure rises to 73%.
Meanwhile, just 23% of the 650 MPs were educated at private school (including 46% of Conservatives and 15% of Labour) – a significant decrease on previous Parliaments – while 13% of all MPs attended a grammar school.
The analysis has been carried out by the social mobilty charity the Sutton Trust.
Overall, 88% of the British population were educated at comprehensive school while 7% went to private school.
However, the charity points out that a majority of the House of Commons continue to attend a “narrow range of universities”, with 55% having attended Russell Group universities, including 1 in 5 who went to Oxford or Cambridge.
When it comes to prime minister Keir Starmer’s first cabinet, 23 of the 25 (92%) were educated at comprehensive school. This compares to 19% in Rishi Sunak’s last cabinet before the election. Of the 25 new cabinet members, 40% when to Oxford or Cambridge.
The new education secretary, Bridget Phillipson – who is the MP for Houghton and Sunderland South – was educated at the comprehensive St Robert of Newminster Catholic School in Tyne and Wear before going on to attend Oxford University.
Nick Harrison, 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% 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.”