Head of Eton threatens to quit Tories over social mobility agenda

Lord Waldegrave said the policy would discriminate against the privately educated

Samuel Osborne
Monday 30 May 2016 07:31 BST
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The Government's proposals include a set of questions allowing companies to check the 'socio-economic background' of job applicants
The Government's proposals include a set of questions allowing companies to check the 'socio-economic background' of job applicants

The Provost of Eton College has threatened to resign from the Conservative party over plans for companies to ask job candidates if they went to private school.

Lord Waldegrave of North Hill, a former Conservative Cabinet minister, has told party officials he is unhappy at the plans which form part of the Government's "life chances" agenda.

Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock said employers should ask job applicants if they went to private school in an attempt to stop discrimination against the poor.

Lord Waldegrave, the crown-appointed provost of Prime Minister David Cameron's former school, told the Daily Telegraph the policy would discriminate against the privately educated.

"Fundamentally I think it quite wrong to punish children for decisions taken by their parents, and to run the risk of choosing crucial public service jobs not on the basis of merit but of social engineering," he told the paper.

“The ablest candidates come from all possible backgrounds.

"I have told the Chief Whip in the Lords that I do not see how I could continue to accept the Whip if I believed that the Government was actively seeking to damage the charitable school of which I am a Trustee, and the many other schools like it which are meeting the justifiable demands of the Charity Commission to help the wider community."

David Cameron doesn't see himself as posh

Mr Hancock's proposals include a set of questions allowing companies to check the "socio-economic background" of job applicants.

He said employers must look to "spot potential, not polish".

Critics claim too many professions and senior positions are dominated by the seven per cent of people who attended independent schools.

Suggested questions include asking the area where someone lived up to the age of 14, whether they received free school meals and asking about their parents' professions.

The Government is urging major companies to adopt the social mobility agenda.

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