The Irony.. PM's donation was for ‘son to study for GCSEs’

Well.... he is the PM's son so..... hes going to get special treatment. People who try and make out KS is some messiah here to save the UK are ridiculous - hes a politician - he's as corrupt as most of them are, and to think he is anything but is silly. People had higher hopes for KS and the party - thats why this is so awful i guess. I mean, i saw AR just appointed herself a private photographer 😂 - just bizarre. That money could have gone to good use to, you know, actually help someone in need. But hey - labour are better, right?

I think the difference between Keir and previous Conservative MPs is that Keir believes he’s in the right.

Plenty of people don’t have undisturbed places for their 16 year olds to revise, plenty will be disturbed by VAT, plenty have their job options limited by their kids’ education. But Keir’s “boy” is better than them. It would’ve been fine for Keir to PAY for his son to go an AirBnB to study, it didn’t need to be a gift.

What should be happening is a reflection that all this gift giving is wrong to any MP and he should hold his hands up and change the rules. He cannot possibly be an independent politician while he is getting this level of personal funding from donors. At my work, I have to refuse any gift of over £50 (colleagues have had to throw unsolicited hampers straight in the bin if the cost more than this) for fear of bribery or impaired independence. And I don’t have any sort of political role.

If Lord Alli asked Keir to act against his morals or manifesto, could Keir hand on heart say he’d be true to the cause knowing it would mean he could, say, never go to watch Arsenal again or his son’s A Levels might be impacted by journalists, or his wife’s designer wardrobe would stop? I honestly don’t think he could make an unbiased choice in that scenario. So the gifts should stop, like they’re stopped for the rest of the UK.

Nobody? Children with SEN who can't get an EHCP? Children with SEN who do have an EHCP naming a private school because the state school can't provide for their needs? Children of parents in the military? Talented children from lower socio-economic backgrounds given scholarships to attend music and dance schools to get vocational training? There are plenty of good reasons why some children have a real need to attend private schools.

The difference between private nurseries and universities compared with private schools is that nobody needs to send their dc to a private school. I think the people on here who are furious are never going to accept that the Labour Party want to act in the interests of the entire country and that may mean tough decisions which impact upon them. Much the same as the poorest and most vulnerable people have had the shit end of the stick thanks to the Tories austerity policy and all that flowed from it from the past 14 years.

Yeah, he doesn't strike as ultra high IQ.

"Return off sausages" FGS

There was plenty of outrage. Most of it from the Labour party. Who are now doing the same.

OMG the contortions that Labour supporters are prepared to go through to justify their party leader's hypocrisy! Keir has said two things about this 1) that he just wants to be able to take his DS to the football and 2) that it wouldn't be safe for him to sit in the crowd with all the other supporters. We know that 2 is bullshit, because Rishi Sunak and Prince William and George manage to safely sit with the rest of the crowd. So why keep repeating this lie to justify him sitting in a box?

In the Labour party?

OP's view (apparently): parents paying for their kids to get a better educational experience at private school for years and years is Good but Starmer accepting a donation so his son gets a slightly better educational experience for one summer is Bad.

Is OP a hypocrite?

Who exactly are those competent people? Rayner? Momentum?

Maybe Southampton FC didn’t offer him a box and I doubt very much that he was a season ticket holder with a paid for seat.

The Labour Party are saying that the state schools aren’t good enough though. That’s why they are saying they need more funding.

And yet Rishi Sunak went to watch sports and sat in the crowd with everyone else ...

I dont give a shit about private education becoming more expensive. There are plenty of state schools and if they are good enough for the plebs, then theyre good enough for everyone.

Most of Johnson's estimated £6.4 million came after he left office (making the claim propaganda/misinformation) so it certainly doesn't compare to a current PM with his snout in the trough while in office. The No 10 money was a blind trust and Johnson ended up not using it and paying himself which is ridiculous. It's arguable the amount (£30k?) to refurbish No 10 is far too low because it's not like it can be redecorated with a bit of poundland woodchip.

Now I'm defending Johnson of all people! But truth matters more than how much I despise him.

And private nurseries.

There was media outrage. The difference is that the Labour Party are lecturing the public on privilege and telling them to tighten their belts whilst accepting luxurious gifts themselves (all tax free). It’s the hypocrisy of the situation which makes it worse. They’re telling pensioners on £12k a year that they don’t need help with heating whilst accepting luxurious accommodation and fancy holidays themselves.

Still quoting my posts @blossomtoes?

I usually ignore but still, you are keen

And yep the polls are shit for your party. Don't notice it if you want I couldn't care less.

It’s not about not having somewhere to study at home it’s about his son finding the media outside their hone off putting. I’d presume the accommodation was the loan of a property for Kier’s wife and kids to stay in during that time. I’d guess it is a property owned by Lord Ali that he wasn’t using at the time. And I’d imagine the cost is an estimate of how much it would cost to rent it. Hence the high cost. I don’t see this has anything to do with VAT on school fees

I know not all of them are charities. I think it’s about half, but still, those schools which go down this route are total crooks as far as I am concerned.

Still on about polls that won’t be relevant for another four years @EasternStandard.

Yes

@Nottodaythankyou123 Two wrongs don’t make a right, and the mainstream media was outraged by Boris Johnson’s behaviour, I remember reading countless articles about Daylesford and his wallpaper.

@HistoryMmam Not all private schools are charities, only not for profits, and in case you’ve missed this also, their charitable status has nothing to do with their tax exemption. Nobody has to go to university either, so why not tax that too?

Did you expect your party not to be talked about when in power? Especially since they seem to be getting it wrong daily, enough for polls to plummet

Maybe a closed site would provide that but not a public forum like mn