Only two of Scotland’s 13 Tory MPs went to fee-paying schools

The Herald Scotland cites our Parliamentary Privilege report in a story on the educational backgrounds of Conservative MPs.

Their foes liked to lampoon them as toffs, to the manor born with silver spoons in their mouths.

True, historically, far from all Scottish Tory MPs have quite lived up to the stereotype of a privately-educated lawyer or landowner with a cut-glass accent that sounded more at home in the Home Counties than their own constituency. But the latest crop of Conservatives elected to Westminster certainly do not, with a Herald analysis of their background showing that only two of the 13 can boast ownership of an old school tie.

That, as a percentage, is around 15 per cent, way higher than the four percent of children who are privately educated. But it compares with a figure of 45 per cent for all Conservative MPs in Westminster, according to educational think tank, the Sutton Trust. A party spokesman claimed the numbers reflected a new bid to seek diverse candidates north of the border.

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Read the full article here.