Public school boys run Britain says David Davis during a defence of grammar schools

David Davis flexed his muscles last night during a Spectator debate on grammar schools.  Public school boys now 'run Britain' he added: "The media, the law, business - they are all dominated by public school boys."

The Daily Mail records some of his key words:

"Every chance I had was created by that grammar school [Bec Hrammar School in Tooting] and that is what grammar schools have done for hundreds of thousands of children from poor homes, council estates, even broken homes, through the postwar years. They were the greatest instrument for social mobility ever invented. The charge against the grammar school is that they helped the brightest at the expense of the weaker child. The truth about the comprehensive system is that it failed the best without helping the weak...

Today we are witnessing the results of a failed revolution, where egalitarians abolished grammar schools to level opportunity in our society, and accidentally destroyed the chances of the very people they were trying to help... They punished the bright poor kids who were held back. They handicapped the intellectual capacity of the country. And out of this catastrophe there was only one winning group. Do you know who they were?  Yes, the public schools. Who teach just 7 per cent of the population."

As ConHome has reported before, we expect backbench Tory MPs to amend any education bills from Michael Gove and David Cameron so that they allow for new grammar schools.

Tim Montgomerie