15 from Oxbridge, four from Eton... but it’s still the most diverse Cabinet ever!

IT WAS assembled in quickfire fashion – quite literally.

Boris Johnson’s Cabinet met for the first time yesterday after the biggest clearout in British political history, which saw 17 of Theresa May’s ministers axed in a matter of hours.

Although his allies described the diverse team as a ‘Cabinet for modern Britain’, some traditions still endure.

Fifteen of the 33 – joined here by Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill – attended either Oxford or Cambridge, and four of those are Old Etonians too. The Prime Minister, his brother Jo, Leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg and Business Minister Kwasi Kwarteng all attended the famed public school.

In total, almost two-thirds of Mr Johnson’s Cabinet – 64 per cent – attended a private school, while 27 per cent went to a comprehensive, including new Education Secretary Gavin Williamson. The remaining 9 per cent went to grammar schools.

The proportion of alumni from independent schools is more than twice that of Mrs May’s 2016 Cabinet. Despite this, three of the four holders of the Great Offices of State – Chancellor Sajid Javid, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Home Secretary Priti Patel – went to state school.

Eight of the 33 positions went to women. Mr Johnson has appointed four full Cabinet members from ethnic minority backgrounds as well as two ministers who will attend Cabinet – a record for any government. The six are Mr Javid, Miss Patel, James Cleverly, Mr Kwarteng, Rishi Sunak and Alok Sharma.