77% of the new Cabinet attended state schools - that's 22 Cabinet secretaries

[Warmfire]

and no posh tw*ts like Jacob Rees Mogg

The state school I went to was in a very different area to Keir starmer , so state in and of itself doesn't mean anything. Regardless, it's not any better to say that all people who went to private school are clueless twats than it is to say all people who went to rough comps are thick scumbags

I remember when we opened up after Covid thinking you could see the Eton impact. This was at the point where you were allowed employed staff in your home (nanny and cleaner) but not family. No grandparents. For my family, like many others it meant we struggled on with home working and home schooling without support for extra weeks.
I don't think it had occurred to the Cabinet at that point that not everyone had nannies. So yes, a mix of life experiences in Cabinet is important - across all backgrounds.

And do you think if Boris had the same family life whilst living in poverty in a council house in Sunderland, he would have ended up prime minister?

Sorry, I didn’t realise being rich and privileged was a protected characteristic. If anyone has waged class warfare over the last few centuries, it’s not the ‘lower’ classes.

I have no interest in where people went to school.

I have to say, you make your own happiness and achievements.

Rayner has shown that.

You don't go to private school and buy your GCSE certificates. If you knew about what is going on currently, in 2024, in private schools, you'd know teachers are underpaid, overworked, on stress leave - the whole 9 yards. It isn't utopia and the kids still must put in the work to get good results. My DS had 4 different English teachers in Y9-11 (ie the GCSE years) in his private school.

And remember that the inequality between one state school and another is far greater. State school could mean one that sends 78 kids to Oxbridge a year - or it could mean that almost nobody progresses into further education.

So is being poor a protected characteristic, or is it ok to call someone poor "scum" "scrounger" "pikey" "oik" or whatever?

What do you think is happening in the state sector ?

I know what's happening - the same as I described and worse. My brother has been assaulted whilst teaching. Only in some state schools though. Not the lovely grammars.

‘Pikey’ is a derogatory term for gypsies/travellers, it’s a racist term and has nothing to do with being poor

The difference being many private school parents also top up their children’s education with private tuition. They might not buy their GCSE results but they can certainly boost their children’s chances with more money.

Are you expecting sympathy for private school pupils whilst 96% of children are educated by the state ?

I don't think this is what the thread is saying.

I think it's due to how Labour dislike private schools and yet a lot of them went to, and do send their kids to private school.

It's the hypocrisy of it.

I thought it was more than that - media (including the Telegraph) report that only one cabinet member went to a fee paying school.

Sure. Private tuition is also extensively used by state school parents though. In particular to gain selective places and huge privilege.

Money absolutely buys privilege and gets you ahead in education. But that money is not confined to the private sector. Anyone can use tutors. Just click online. Furthermore, the entire content of most GCSEs can be learnt from YouTube, if a person is willing.

No it’s not a protected characteristic. And what you call poor people is up to you - it’s not like it’s going to make the gap in wealth, life expectancy, etc etc any wider.

It fills me with joy that 77% of our new cabinet can be direct role models to 94% of our children.

No I am not expecting sympathy. I am expecting people (particularly those slapping taxes on) to not be ignorant about the current situation inside schools.

I don't think most kids in any type of school give a shit who's in the cabinet tbh

Such naivety, you need access to technology. Lockdown showed that many pupils didn’t have this or were sharing devices. We lent many laptops out at my school. Also more importantly you need a quiet place to study and many do not have that.

If you want private school then pay for it. My concern is for the 96% of children who don’t have that option

I love these discussions as it really shows it’s different strokes for different folks. I went to state school but don’t feel I relate any more to the new cabinet then the previous. In fact, I want to gouge my eye out when I see or hear Angela Raynor, and it’s the constant ‘I grew up in a council house’ rhetoric that winds me up so much.

I don't call "poor" people any of those things. The poster was saying that being posh is not a protected characteristic so it was OK to name call. I was just putting the other side of that across - name calling poor people to illustrate that it wasn't OK to name call anyone.

If things are so desperate, then people should take out their children.

They really do. And it’s inspiring for them.