Britain needs more people who have worked in supermarkets like Morrisons in the government, a cabinet minister said yesterday.
Justine Greening, the international development secretary, said that David Cameron is failing to honour Margaret Thatcher’s legacy by neglecting social mobility, in remarks which will be seen as a rebuke to the domination of Etonians at the heart of power.
Similar comments by Michael Gove earlier in the year earned him an angry call from Mr Cameron.
In an interview with The Spectator, she said: “Margaret Thatcher’s message to me was, ‘it doesn’t matter where you come from, this is a country where the effort you put in will mean you can get the reward out of it’… Over the years that message has been diluted.
“Unless you are pushing it, it will go backwards. Unless we are winning this battle to open up opportunities for young people, the doors have a tendency to gradually close back. This is an agenda that the Conservative party should absolutely own... We should be the people that are pushing forward on it.
Advertisement
“What is next is really starting to shift the overall culture and mindset. What can we do to identify and bring through Britain’s talent? You see the statistics still there in the proportion of privately educated people in the professions.”
When asked if she would like to see more people who have worked in Morrisons in the government, she replied: “Yes, I would. I think it’s really important. One of the reasons it’s important to talk about this is there are actually lots of people in the Conservative party who know what it’s like to start at the bottom… I know how it feels to be slightly locked out of the system.”
The comments, from a Cabinet member without direct responsibility for social mobility issues, are likely to be regarded as unhelpful by Number 10. She has a poor relationship with Mr Cameron and George Osborne, likely to contribute to the bitterness on both sides.
She used the interview to use her personal experience to draw a contrast with her bosses.
“Over the years that message has been diluted. My biggest concern is that we are ending up with a country where you have not one ladder to climb up but people are on different ladders. You might start at the bottom of a short ladder that will only get you so high. What we need to recreate is one ladder that everyone can climb up.
Advertisement
“Both my dad and my granddad worked in the steel industry. The harshest economic lesson I had was the day my dad became unemployed. He eventually found a job filling vending machines. I know what it is like to grow up knowing you are not starting in the best place, or that other people are having a better start than you are. The experience I had growing up, going to my local comprehensive, my family going through difficult times … it’s about understanding what it’s like to start from scratch more.”