GovernedByUK
All findings

The higher you climb, the more Oxbridge it gets

Against 40% of their junior ministers. Eton alone has produced 80 ministers.

430
ministers went to Oxford or Cambridge
80
went to Eton, 1 in 12 of those whose school is known
62%
of Conservative cabinet ministers are Oxbridge, vs 40% of their junior ministers

Oxford and Cambridge educate about 1% of each year's university entrants. Among ministers they dominate: 430 of the 1,173 people in this database studied at one of them, 8 times as many as the next university on the list (the LSE).

The concentration grows the further up government you look. That is not just because Conservative governments have more Oxbridge graduates: within each party, the share rises with rank. Among Labour ministers it goes from 24% of those who never rose above junior minister to 43% of those who reached the cabinet.

Oxbridge share rises with rank in both main parties
% Oxbridge-educated, by the highest rank each minister reached
Junior = parliamentary under-secretary or whip. Cabinet = Secretary of State, Deputy PM or PM.
Show the data
PartyHighest rankMinistersOxbridge %Private school %
ConservativeJunior26439.959.2
ConservativeMinister of State21653.873.0
ConservativeCabinet15962.366.4
LabourJunior22124.027.4
LabourMinister of State11127.829.3
LabourCabinet9342.930.6

Private schooling tells a different story. Most Conservative ministers at every level went to fee-paying schools (between 59% and 73%), and the share barely changes with rank. Among Labour ministers it is 27–31%, also flat. Where you went to school predicts which party you join; where you went to university predicts how far you rise.

Schools that produce ministers
Ministers since 1979
  1. Eton College80
  2. Winchester College14
  3. Harrow School13
  4. Westminster School13
  5. Rugby School11
  6. Marlborough College10
  7. Charterhouse School9
  8. Wellington College9
  9. Nottingham High School8
  10. Latymer Upper School7
Universities that produce ministers
Oxford and Cambridge colleges combined
  1. Oxford or Cambridge (all colleges)430
  2. LSE56
  3. University of Edinburgh44
  4. King's College London25
  5. Harvard University25
  6. Durham University24
  7. University College London22
  8. University of Glasgow22
  9. University of Leeds20
  10. University of Bristol19
What kind of school
Ministers with a known UK school, since 1979
"Clarendon" schools are the nine historic public schools, including Eton, Harrow, Winchester and Westminster. School is known for 993 ministers.