The full membership list of the men-only Garrick Club reveals its central position as a bulwark of the British establishment, featuring scores of leading lawyers, heads of publicly funded arts institutions, the head of the civil service and King Charles.
Members also include the deputy prime minister, the secretary of state for levelling up, the chief executive of the Royal Opera House as well as Richard Moore, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service (M16), and Simon Case, who as cabinet secretary is the prime minister's most senior policy adviser and the leader of nearly half a million civil servants.
Made public for the first time by the Guardian, the club's closely guarded membership book lists a supreme court judge, five court of appeal judges, eight high court judges, about 150 KCs, dozens of members of the House of Lords and 10 MPs, plus heads of influential think tanks, law firms, private equity companies, academics, prominent actors, rock stars and senior journalists. Details of how many British establishment figures are members of a club that has repeatedly blocked moves to admit women prompted anger from campaigners for increased diversity in the arts, business, politics and the law.
Harriet Harman , the Labour MP who drafted the Equality Act 2010, said politicians and senior civil servants should not be members of clubs prohibiting women from joining.
“Equality for women is a recognised public policy objective and all those in public life should be committed to that objective,” she said. “These clubs prop up structures that restrict women’s access to power .”
Caroline Nokes , a Conservative MP and chair of the women and equalities committee, said: “It’s wrong in today’s society to have places that are still so pivotal to the establishment that exclude 51 % of the population.”
This story is from the March 19, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the March 19, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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