Are the Tories playing class warfare?

Commentators are claiming that Labour is embarking on a strategy of "class war". But the Conservative are making selective use of MPs' school background.

Leading commentator, Benedict Brogan, today claims that Labour is embarking on a strategy of “class war” but are the Conservative also playing this game?

The Meet the Shadow Cabinet’ section of conservatives.com contains a variable approach to MPs’ school background. David Cameron’s entry makes no mention of Eton while the entry for his chief lieutenant, George Osborne, makes only the anodyne statement that he was “born and educated in London”. Indeed he was, at the exclusive St Paul’s School. Cheryl Gillian’s entry merely reads “Born in Llandaff, Cardiff and educated at local schools until the age of ten,” while omitting to mention that she was later schooled at the prestigious Cheltenham Ladies College. Her own website mentions the Ladies College.

Meanwhile other MPs’ biographies, including Greg Clarke, William Hague, and Philip Hammond, contain details of their state school educational background. This trend is played out again and again on the biographies of the Tory PPCs.

Andrew Lansley used the “class war and politics of envy” defence to explain Gordon Brown’s PMQ attack on Eton on the Daily Politics yesterday. Responding to a specific question about the education listings, Lansley said he had “no idea” why they were left off and referred to his own schooling at private Brentwood School, which does appear on the Tory website. John Hutton said, “they know it’s a problem; they leave it out.”

Perhaps the truth is that the true schooling doesn’t sit so well with their new-found ‘commitment’ to tackling the problems of poverty and inequality.

A longer version of this article appears on http://slingerblog.blogspot.com

22 Responses to “Are the Tories playing class warfare?”

  1. Ben Cooper

    RT @leftfootfwd: Are the Conservatives playing class warfare? Their website is selective about MPs and PPCs schooling http://bit.ly/8dqQ8K

  2. SSP Campsie

    RT @leftfootfwd Are the Conservatives playing class warfare? Their website is selective about MPs and PPCs schooling http://bit.ly/8dqQ8K

  3. Working Class Tory

    Err.. what about Ed Balls? He’s in charge of Education, yet he went to a private school http://www.workingclasstory.com/2009/12/labour-toffs.html

  4. Working Class Tory

    Is he therefore unfit too?

  5. Bill Kristol-Balls

    “I want every child to have the same opportunities I had”

    David Cameron 2009

    Probably best not to mention he went to Eton (£26,000 pa) after saying that.

    It’s quite a big unfunded spending commitment / promise / aspiration.

    Bet you could play conkers without goggles at Eton though. I’m so envious.

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