Kier starmer! He hates strivers!

[Bucketheadbucketbum]

He wants to introduce a policy to put up the cost of school fees 10 to 15%. This is a tax on hard-working parents! We slave away cutting cots everywhere living hand to mouth to try and improve our childrens future . Live in an average house average area 1 shit car no holidays work like a dog to get our kids through. We are easing the burden on the state system by choosing independent schools. We're not sending them to Eton paid by our trust fund! Why does he want to punish strivers! Tax the energy companies! So disappointed. We need a new political party. What's the point in trying to better your future.

He wants to add VAT to the cost. There's a calculation that says c90,000 kids might change from private to public education which will mean we need 90 new schools at a cost of over £10b, the VAT will raise £1.6b.

I'm state educated, and a socialist and I say keep VAT off the cost. those fees already contribute to the coffers through employment, rates and other forms of VAT payments.

BTW the Torys are also considering this too, they've just kept quiet about it....

I hear this all the time parents moaning how they struggle to send their children to private school yet to meet a family who isn’t comfortably off

its a choice that very few can even contemplate the extra money will always be found by saving just a few more pennies 🙄

Out 2 DC through private school, youngest just finished. So I am not envious of the OP. I do however find it next to impossible to defend the charitable status of the sector. If Labour get in and the fees go up, parents who choose that option will just have to strive that little bit harder. OP, you should thank Keir Starmer for encouraging such aspirational behaviour.

I can reassure you that rather than depleting resources if your children join the state crowd the funding they will attract will positively help the school attended. If there is space for a bum on a seat then their is need for the associated funding.

Taking the pressure off state schools? Is it bollocks.

You are being ridiculous and dramatic. This policy isn't new. Labour have been suggesting it for a long time. YWBU and stupid not to have factored the prospect into your affordability calculations when you chose to send your dc to private school.

If you have to pull your kids out, the ill effects of that are all on you.

You see these people who won't countenance sending their darlings to school with the local riff raff but if they all sent their dc to the local school it would improve standards to have more parents supporting their dc education within the state system.

I love the way private school parents claim they are doing the country a favour and mutter darkly about how the state system won't be able to cope. Plus the whole not getting value for money out of their tax bill. Such a noxious argument. Tax is for the benefit of society. Better educated population benefits us all. It's ridiculous to suggest that just because you aren't using state education you are somehow overpaying tax. I don't use social care or much of the NHS but that doesn't mean I think I shouldn't have to pay tax towards it.

No it isn't. Housing is a necessity, private schooling a luxury.

@MarigoldPetals I actually grew up pretty poor so I do know but I also
Know that this policy wouldn't probably even move the needle in terms of revenue generation- but it will garner support amongst a certain demographic. Wealthy to me is never having to worry about money. I am not in that bracket.

I repeat: that 'calculation' is nonsense. I'll take bets.

Bloody hell. You realise if private schools were completely abolished the standard of state schools would go up?

It's not about a race to the bottom. It's about states schools being better funded. Equally opportunities for all. Great non selective state education no need for private schools. No need for grammars.

Maybe you should try striving 15% harder.

I keep hoping this is the start of the abolishment of private schools. Would be amazing.

OP, stop pissing and moaning about Starmer and consider what the Tories did to "strivers" like yourself when raising employer contributions on teachers' pension, thereby buggering up the free ride the private education sector had been having for years.

Quite right too, by the way.

www.pensions-expert.com/DB-Derisking/TPS-continues-to-haemorrhage-schools-as-284-exit

Exactly if all members of the cabinet sent their children to state school I'm sure funding would be found. Likewise the NHS and private healthcare.

The standard of state schools would not go up if private schools were closed. Probably the opposite. Lots of extra pupils and no extra funding.

I don't want my DCs going to a school where there's disruption in classes and bright students are held back because the teacher has to cater for the students that need more help. This is what happened when my DC were at state school and I'm glad we could move them to private. If they had continued at the state school, standards wouldn't have improved, but their education would have suffered. Labour are doing a Johnson, populist policies that appeal to a certain demographic but will achieve nothing useful if implemented.

Do you realise how offensive it is to ELECT a to pay a fortune for something you could get for free and then claim to be living ‘hand to mouth’

Charity status for private schools is and always has been a nonsense. And no you are not helping us paupers in the state sector by not using it - you are perpetuating an inherently unjust system 🙄.

Highly doubtful any increases in tax will result in better public services regardless of which party is in power. Theoretically, the policy of taxing the private school fees may be good to raise more revenue to improve state schools or other public services but less than zero chance any improvements will actually happen. Has anything actually been improved in the last 2 decades as a result of tax rises? Purported increases in spending are never spent on the right things. We need an audit of government finances more than anything else.

Instead of shouting about a race to the bottom and politics of envy, why don’t you tell us why you think private schools should have charitable status for tax purposes and why they shouldn’t pay business rates?

I think it's narrower than that. I think he hates OP.

Don't know why because she's smashing.

SparklyMistleToes

Thanks for the link but it didn’t say where the 90,000 figure has come from and how it was calculated.

As I said up thread, my experience from using a private school is that the vast majority of parents could afford to absorb the increase easily. Sell their £250,000 Rolls Royce (hilarious watching them try to park it - bloody ridiculous and vulgar display of wealth), maybe just go on one luxury holiday a year, may be not spend £1000s of pounds on unnecessary luxuries, sell a property, rent their holiday home out, downsize house, both parents work full time instead of just one, sell some shares/gold, sell the boat, sell a classic car, rent out a room or annex etc.

Most wouldn’t even need to do any of that. Some would need to make some extra sacrifices. One or two, like the OP, might struggle enough to have to give up on it.

90,000 UK wide? Just England? Out of how many? Based on what information? Survey? Actually looking at financial circumstances and whether cut backs could happen?

We can afford private Ed but moved and not as good options here. Even when we were there most parents felt the charitable status was ridiculous.

Kier Starmer has had some damn good advice OP to judge by the Daily Mail. Looks like your view is not that popular.

Disclaimer - send the kids to a private school but not kidding myself that this isn't a privilege. It's not cheap and never has been

I thought this was a joke thread.

State schools with spaces are normally pretty keen to fill them OP. You'd not be burdening anyone.