Burnham would be in a long line of humanities and social science educated prime ministers (if he becomes Labour leader and PM). In my lifetime, only one UK prime minister had a natural science degree and only one did not attend university.

Margaret Thatcher – Chemistry (Oxford)

John Major – no university degree

Tony Blair – Law (Oxford)

Gordon Brown – History (Edinburgh)

David Cameron – PPE (Oxford)

Theresa May – Geography (Oxford)

Boris Johnson – Classics (Oxford)

Rishi Sunak – PPE (Oxford)

Keir Starmer – Law (Leeds and Oxford)

Andy Burnham – English Literature (Cambridge)

What makes this interesting is how it compares internationally. Dan Wang argues that China has historically been governed by engineers, while the United States has been governed by lawyers. The UK appears closer to the American model, although perhaps with an even stronger emphasis on humanities and social science degrees than legal training.

This is particularly interesting given Britain's recurring debates about the “British disease”. If productivity, innovation and industrial competitiveness have been the country's defining economic challenges for half a century, it is worth asking whether the educational background of those making policy shapes the questions that get asked.