18 November 2023 , 19:03
1110
0
Rishi Sunak’s posh-boy reshuffle means members of the infamous Bullingdon Club have occupied the great offices of state for 85% of the time since 2010.
Since 11 May 2010, a member of the Bullingdon Club has been either Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, or Chancellor for 4122 days – over 11 years continuously. At one point, Bullingdon Boys occupied half of the great offices of state - but had been absent since Boris Johnson was ousted from No10.
But the shock return of David Cameron as Foreign Secretary means the elitist organisation is once again represented at the top of government.
A Labour source said: “The British public thought they’d seen the back of the Bullingdon Club when Boris Johnson left office in disgrace, but they are back in the most powerful positions in the country. The sight of David Cameron back in Downing Street, invited back by a Prime Minister too weak to go it alone, will have sent a message loud and clear to the British Public: the Bullingdon Boys are back in charge.”
The Bullingdon Club is a private, invite-only male dining club at the University of Oxford, known for its wealthy membership and the allegedly criminal behaviour of the young men who join.
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
Almost all members are reported to come from a small group of elite private schools, including Eton - where David Cameron was educated - and Winchester - where Rishi Sunak was educated). Ex-member Boris Johnson called it ‘a truly shameful vignette of almost superhuman undergraduate arrogance, toffishness and twittishness’. He is reported to still greet ex-members with the chant ‘buller, buller, buller.’
David Cameron, Boris Johnson and George Osborne were all members during their time at Oxford. Since the 2010 General Election, all three served in Great Offices of State – either as Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, or Foreign Secretary.
The Labour source added: “Elitism is once again the order of the day: the Tories simply don’t have a clue about the challenges facing ordinary people in this country”.