It appears that if you want a career in politics, a ‘sure-fire’ way to achieve this is to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) at the University of Oxford, as documented in this article.
In fact six members of the current cabinet, including the prime minister, foreign secretary and chief secretary to the treasury, are Oxford PPE graduates. Across the major party lines, Oxford PPE is the course of choice. In the House of Commons there are believed to be as many as 35 Oxford PPE-ists, compared with 20 Old Etonians.
Unsurprisingly, many Oxbridge graduates occupy a dominant place in the nation’s elite circle, enjoying a lucrative and deterministic path.
Nonetheless, not all PPE graduates are happy with their subject choice, The Observer’s Nick Cohen, an Oxford PPE graduate, says he now regrets switching to this “silly degree” from history while an undergraduate:
“It’s a degree for generalists, and British society has always loved generalists,” he says. “But I think we’d certainly benefit from more scientists and engineers at the top.
“It’s far easier to condemn Eton or the failure of the comprehensive system. But I went to Oxford, Christopher Hitchens went to Oxford, Ian Hislop went to Oxford – who are the people who are going to eviscerate the phenomenon?”
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