You mean John Major, don't you
This Minette Marrin article in the Sunday Times on why we should be grateful to Thatcherism, and in particular rich people, is not very inspiring (interestingly though in its view about how much Britain has 'outpaced' Continental Europe its view is almost identical to the Henry Jackson Society's, except Marrin believes it's all Thatcher's doing, and the HJS believes it's all Blair's).This bit, when she talks about the 'explosion of freedom and meritocracy' caught my eye though:
Bring on the barrow boys. Bring on the grocer’s daughter. Bring on the circus artist’s son. A woman prime minister! Top Conservative politicians who hadn’t been to university, let alone to Oxbridge!
The rather disjointed nature of this paragraph is because the grocer's daughter and woman prime minister did go to Oxbridge. But the most odd statement is the 'top Conservative politicians who hadn't been to university, let alone to Oxbridge'. Of Mrs Thatcher's last Cabinet, of the 16 I can identify where they went to university, 4 went to Oxford, 12 went to Cambridge, and then there was John Major, who famously didn't go to university*.
It's hardly novel to note the legacy of Thatcherism was John Major, but it's a bit unusual to be so thrilled about it. No wonder she didn't mention names.
* This of course is certainly a higher proportion at Oxbridge than Winston's Churcill's last cabinet, and no lower a number who 'hadn't been to university, let alone Oxbridge'.
posted by Matthew @ 5/21/2006 08:34:00 AM
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