Burnham blasts snobbery behind Blair's uni crusade

LABOUR made a "terrible mistake" by pushing young people to enter higher education without an ambitious plan for those not going to university, says Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

- David Williamson

The Cambridge-educated former Cabinet minister warned this has had "serious consequences" and blasted the "snobbery" he claims is endemic in England's education system.

He is concerned people in Britain grow up in two separate worlds, saying: "You're on the university route or you're not on that route."

Tony Blair set the "target of 50 per cent of young adults going into higher education" in September 1999 in a landmark speech while Prime Minister.