The more it changes, the more it is the same thing. (french proverb)

F

Long, long ago, in the days of Harold Macmillan and Mr Profumo, there was much talk of "The Establishment". This was not the empty phrase it is today; it referred to the way in which the upper classes in Britain were bonded together - by class, by family ties, and above all by education.
When Harold Wilson's Labour party came to power, all that was to change. A more meritocratic education system was to ensure the influx of new blood regardless of class background. This has continued to be  Labour policy in the years since: first of all by the setting up of comprehensive schools and the downgrading of public schools and of grammar schools, and latterly by the the conversion of polytechnics into universities. Sixty years on, how well has the project worked?
Let's look at the the heads of the ruling coalition. Cameron went to Oxford, Clegg to Cambridge.
Perhaps among the contenders for the Labour leadership we shall see some evidence of the influence of the people's universities. Let us see:
Ed Milliband -    Oxford
Ed Balls -           Oxford
Andy Burnham -Cambridge
Diane Abbott-    Cambridge
Comment would appear to be superfluous.