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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The 'You Couldn't Make It Up' Fact of the Day

Iain Dale 1:04 PM

Fact 1: 5.5% of Tory MPs went to Eton

Fact 2: 18.75% of daily & Sunday newspaper political editors went to Eton.

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17 Comments:

At November 11, 2009 2:03 PM , Blogger HarveyR said...

Source?

 
At November 11, 2009 2:05 PM , Blogger Iain Dale said...

What do you mean source? I calculated it myself. 18 pol eds, 3 of them went to Eton. Two of the 8 dailies. Not difficult.

 
At November 11, 2009 2:23 PM , Blogger Cat Enaccio said...

3/18? Isn't that 16.67%?

 
At November 11, 2009 1:32 PM , Blogger Sean Haffey said...

I expect that the political editors are all retired Tory MPs.

 
At November 11, 2009 1:24 PM , Blogger Grenville said...

How many of your readers/commenters went to Eton? Can we have a poll please?

 
At November 11, 2009 1:13 PM , Blogger AMW said...

Fact 1: 5.5% of Tory MPs went to Eton

Fact 2: 18.75% of daily & Sunday newspaper political editors went to Eton
________________________

Yeh that might be true but your not adding the Tory toffs who were kicked out, then the total rises to 80%. :)

 
At November 11, 2009 2:25 PM , Blogger Iain Dale said...

Sorry, 16 pol eds, 8 dailies and 8 sundays

 
At November 11, 2009 2:43 PM , Blogger Lazy Student said...

How many of the Tory cabinet went to public school, full stop? And how many went to Westminster, Eton or St Pauls? Just curious, really.

 
At November 11, 2009 2:38 PM , Blogger Old Slaughter said...

Course you could make it up.

When the education policies of successive governments have put abstract notions of fairness and equality above results we get this.

The school that has been unmolested for centuries knocks out top class results. The modern bastardised results of meddling idiots knocks out people unfulfilled, unstretched and unready.

My father grew up in the East End and received a world class education from the local grammar. If he grew up their now he would have a almost non-existent chance of getting top qualifications.

When grammar schools were at their peak the numbers in private education and the number of privately educated at Oxbridge were considerably lower. Have we become more class conscience, have we increased snobbery? No. It is just that the working classes no longer have access to a fair chance.

God bless Labour. God bless the psuedo intellectual dreamers that have devised our education policies these last 30 years.

 
At November 11, 2009 2:26 PM , Blogger James G said...

So a significant percentage of the UK's political editors went to Eton and support the Eton led Tory party.

Why would you make it up?

 
At November 11, 2009 2:31 PM , Blogger Cat Enaccio said...

"Not difficult" indeed!

 
At November 11, 2009 2:52 PM , Blogger Elby the Beserk said...

That Labour should be so anti public schools shows the utter paucity of their "equality" for all (whether you like it or not) campaign. Rather than get shot of the public schools, because they are better than state schools, why not make state schools as good? It's not as if they haven't thrown enough money at education, is it, regardless of the fact that it is clear that they have destroyed the state education system.

It is this destruction which means we will never be any sort of economic power again. Especially as the bright and the best bugger off abroad as soon as they can, and who can blame them.

Labour. We make you all equal, by destroying everything.

 
At November 11, 2009 2:57 PM , Blogger DespairingLiberal said...

What's the percentage on the Tory front bench?

 
At November 11, 2009 4:55 PM , Blogger Simon Lewis said...

yep, Labour spent money saving the banks. What would you have done? Let them collapse, mortgages gone, jobs gone..

 
At November 11, 2009 4:22 PM , Blogger Tom said...

8 dailies? Mail, Express, Mirror, Sun, Guardian, Independent, Times, Telegraph, FT makes nine. Before you even include the Standard (not a national, but influential enough that it should probably be counted).

 
At November 11, 2009 7:11 PM , Blogger HarveyR said...

"I calculated it myself. "

Sorry. I was just wondering who was trying to make a point out of such a meaningless "fact".

 
At November 11, 2009 7:22 PM , Blogger Anna said...

The 'old boy network' notwithstanding, Eton provides a very fine education which leaves its brighter pupils with an outstanding ability to think for themselves and a good analytical capabilities. Margaret Thatcher went to a state school that left her with similar qualities. Ergo it is quite possible for state schools to provide an outstanding education, they are just hamstrung by trendy lefty social engineers.

ducking incoming flak!

 

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Iain in conversation with Paddy Ashdown.