Not that 'ordinary', Ed! Woman who inspired Miliband's speech on disillusioned young grew up in £900,000 Oxfordshire mansion and went to same posh school as SamCam

Beatrice Bazell, 27, is a PhD student at Birkbeck, University of London

She lived in £900,000 home and attended top girls' school in Oxfordshire

Spoke to Mr Miliband with a friend during chance meeting in Hampstead

Said how they have no opportunities and find themselves in 'black hole'



Father says 27-year-old has had 'every opportunity we could give her'



One of the ‘ordinary’ people referred to in Ed Miliband’s keynote speech this week is a 27-year-old PhD student who attended a £14,000-a-year school, it was revealed today.

Beatrice Bazell - who is currently studying at Birkbeck, University of London - was brought up in a £900,000 home and attended St Helen and St Katherine girls’ school in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Her father, chartered accountant Barnaby Bazell, 61, said she had gone to Mr Miliband with a story about how she and her peers had no opportunities and saw themselves as being in a ‘black hole’.

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'Ordinary': Beatrice Bazel is a 27-year-old PhD student who attended a £14,000-a-year school Gave her a mention: Throughout his speech, Labour leader Ed Miliband (picturedd) referred to the ordinary people he was concerned about and wanted to fight for in Number 10

Mr Bazell told The Sun reporters Daniel Sanderson and Katie Hodge: ‘Beatrice has had every opportunity we could give her. And she’s done very well. She had a good education.



'She went to an all-girls private school. Her studies have cost me a great deal of money. She might be feeling a bit gloomy about the job prospects of people her age, but she can have no complaints.’

The father, who is married to Felicity, 57, added that Miss Bazell obtained straight As at A-level and a first-class degree. And The Sun claimed he has spent £250,000 on his two daughters’ educations.

Some of St Helen and St Katherine’s alumni include the Prime Minister’s wife Samantha Cameron, her sister Emily Sheffield, Radio 1 presenter Natalie Jamieson and Blue Peter host Lindsey Russell.

While Miss Bazell was at the school her headmistress was Cynthia Hall - the wife of BBC director general Tony Hall, who is now in charge of Wycombe Abbey girls' school in Buckinghamshire.



Oxfordshire home: Her father said 'she has had every opportunity we could give her' and has 'done very well' Privileged: Miss Bazell was brought up in a beautiful £900,000 home on this private road in rural Oxfordshire

Miss Bazell - whose sister Clemency, 24, is a Labour Party member - studied at the University of Sussex for a BA in English from 2006 to 2009, then did an MA in literature and culture there in 2010.

She met Mr Miliband while walking with her friend Helen Goodman - also 27 and a PhD student, at Royal Holloway, University of London - to the ponds in Hampstead Heath, north-west London.

Miss Goodman insisted they spoke to him, and they discussed jobs and finances. The Labour leader told in his speech how they ran up to him - but had been hoping for actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

Miss Bazell is currently studying Victorian women's bodies in art, photography and literature. She said on Twitter last night: 'Thanks for the interest, but I'm not talking to journalists.'



£14,000-a-year education: She attended St Helen and St Katherine girls' school in Abingdon, Oxfordshire Previous pupils: Some of St Helen and St Katherine's alumni include the Prime Minister’s wife Samantha Cameron, her sister Emily Sheffield (both left) and Blue Peter host Lindsey Russell (right)

Throughout his speech, Mr Miliband referred to the ordinary people he was concerned about and wanted to fight for in Number 10.

'Beatrice has had every opportunity we could give her. And she’s done very well. She had a good education' Barnaby Bazell, father

He told Labour activists that he had offered ‘Gareth’ a 'route map' to turning Britain around.

Mr Miliband referred to the software developer called Gareth Edwards, 36, so often that his first name started to trend on Twitter. And he turned out to be a former Liberal Democrat supporter.



Worse still, the young apprentice given a seat in the front row for Mr Miliband’s speech - Elizabeth Shepherd, 20, from Bolton - said she had been left unconvinced about whether to vote for him.



He also mentioned Xiomara who 'works in a pub near where I live', told a story about ‘Josephine’, a struggling cleaner, ‘Rosie’ - a doctor from Devon - and ‘Colin’, who he met in hospital but later died.

In full: Ed Miliband's 'ordinary people'



Talk: Labour leader Ed Miliband speaks during the party's annual conference in Manchester on Tuesday

Two girls in a park - Beatrice Bazell and Helen Goodman, in affluent Hampstead



‘The other day I was in the park. I was actually trying to work on my speech, believe it or not, and I wasn’t getting anywhere, so I went to the park and there were two young women who were in the park and they seemed excited to see me and they came over.

‘And – it’s not that funny – one of them actually said “so it is true, you do meet famous people in this park.” And the other one said “yeah it is.”

‘And then the first one said “no offence, we were hoping for Benedict Cumberbatch.

‘But anyway, one of them said something which really stuck with me. She said this, she said: “My generation is falling into a black hole.”

‘And she said about her parents’ generation: “they’ve had it so good and now there’s nothing left for us.” She wasn’t just speaking for herself, she was speaking for millions of people across our country. Millions of people who have lost faith in the future.’



Josephine the cleaner



'She worked as a cleaner in the building. I asked her what the company was like that she worked for. She said the company was decent but the wages were rubbish.'

Xiomara the pub chef

'Xiomara couldn’t afford to go to college. So she got a job in the pub kitchen nearby, washing dishes. She’s worked incredibly hard and she’s worked her way up to be one of the chefs.'

Gareth the IT man

‘He thinks that unless you’re one of the privileged few in Britain the country is not going to work for you and your kids are going to have a worse life than you.’

Nurses in Watford



'I was watching nurses from different backgrounds different walks of life, all coming together. I was incredibly moved, I was incredibly inspired by the team work. I was so proud of our National Health Service.'



Elizabeth the electrician

'Elizabeth is an apprentice. She’s an auto-electrician. I think it’s fair to say Elizabeth that you are breaking through in what’s been pretty much a man’s world.'

Colin the NHS patient



‘Friends we are so proud of our National Health Service. And I know my duty to Colin and to the British people. It is to make sure our NHS is there when we need it.’

Rosie the doctor