VAT on private school fees - will it change how you vote?

[Iwishicouldflyhigh]

Following on from the other interesting thread about whether it will be implemented, will this policy change how you vote either way?
For me - i've voted Labour and Tory over the years, but Tory for the most recent GE's. This year, i've been thinking seriously about how i'd vote at the next GE and it wasn't definitely a Tory vote - i was definitely a floating voter.
However, my children are at PS and so i will now most definitely be voting Tory (not just because how the VAT will seriously impact us - child number 3 will now not be going to the prep that we had lined up for her, she'll enter the local primary until secondary school - but how i think that it will affect schools negatively and children negatively).
I have a lot of left leaning friends who educate privately and whilst they cannot bring themselves to vote Tory, they won't vote Labour either at the next GE because of this policy.

It seems to me that this policy is only a vote loser (ie many Labour voters and 'floaters' who school privately won't vote for them at the next GE) and not a vote winner (ie i can't imagine that many Tory or 'floaters' will vote for Labour solely on this policy).

AiBU to think that Labour have really shot themselves in the foot with this idea?

@EasternStandard there are plenty of high earners who don't send their kids to private school or won't run off at the first hint of being taxed more.

And do you realise how sanctimonious and smug you sound?

lol ok

For mentioning behaviour

Yes it’s abhorrent 😬

Far from it! Firstly we are Tory voters out of lack of options although I have voted Libdem in the past, and secondly both my DH and I pay top rate tax on ALL our income without ever being eligible for a single tax allowance. We barely ever use the NHS, instead going private when needed and contribute financially to supporting our community in various efforts etc.

@EasternStandard

Its a lack of education and critical thinking skills.

You can't fix it. Is used to think it was possible when I was younger but over the years I have seen too many people like that all over the UK.

People are leaving the UK now because they don't want their children to grow up around that kind of mentality. The lack of aspiration in the UK is immense. People only want to tear down others who aspire to be more than they are.

And I don't blame them. It you ever visit Denmark, Spain, Norway etc you would see the difference very quickly.

Plenty of very well off people have moved to the UK recently too.

You're not a true Labour supporter if you don't think VAT should be paid on a private education.

I can guarantee you that with the very much reduced level of top tier jobs the UK now has to offer, your ‘well off’ people moving to the UK have some sort of non dom status to reduce the tax burden of their companies based outside of the UK. Not many are moving for UK based jobs with high salaries. There just aren’t anymore of these jobs going around and Europe and Asia are much more competitive on this front. So good luck with your imaginary high tax contributors who are going to come in to save the day for you!

Labout wont get in if only true supporters vote for them, they need some swing voters too

Literally could have written your post word for word @BouncingJAS, thank you for summing this issue up so well!

The number of potential voters who may have considered swinging to Labour but have kids in private schools so are put off by this policy are tiny. Swing voters from the elctorate at large will be influenced by the total mess the current government have made of the economy, NHS and social care, housing, local council funding etc.

Yep it’s not going to help anyone

@coffeeaddict77 My brother in law is a very high earner and tax is not optional he gets it discounted from his salary. He speaks several languages and would be leaving before the next elections. He found an international school where his company transferred him on his request. I believed he said this is much better and he would not be charged such a high rate of tax plus the schools are much better I value for money. They do not have to worry about gang stabbings or crime or the Range Rover being stolen. It is the U.K. loss so quit being so smug about people leaving.

Do all the highly educated well off people who have moved here from Hong Kong have non domestic status? Regardless, there is net migration rather than emigration in the UK .

So he is leaving because he can't find any other way of reducing his tax bill with the added bonus that there are no crimes in the country where he will be moving to😂

@coffeeaddict77

Net migration to the UK is coming from non-EU countries.

The people coming to the UK are not high earners. They are largely coming for lower skilled jobs (care, agriculture etc) that the native Brits refuse to do (even after Brexit). While these folks are coming to the UK to do jobs that absolutely need doing, they are not net contributors as they make less than £55k/year (household income). Thats where the line is in terms of a household paying in more vs taking out services-wise for non-retired working adults.

The people leaving the UK are higher earners, who are net contributors. So, you have people leaving who are net contributors, and people coming in large amounts who are not.

And thats not even the largest problem.

The native UK population is getting older (demographics), so there will be even less net taxpayers around as they retire.

When you combine these two things you see pretty clearly just how spectacularly screwed the UK is. But to understand all of this you need an education. And critical thinking skills.

Thats not something I see in the UK.

They do not have to worry about gang stabbings or crime or the Range Rover being stolen.

So many of the reasons he wants to leave the UK actually have nothing to do with VAT on school fees but are to do with fears around crime? Perhaps he could stay in this country and vote out the government which has slashed police funding and funding for youth programmes designed to reduce issues around gangs?

Are you expecting the extra funding for that and everything else you’re looking for to come from this policy?

Do you actually think everyone who disagrees with you is uneducated and lacks "critical thinking skills" or is it just a pathetic attempt to try an annoy those who disagree with you.

@coffeeaddict77

I look at the Brexit vote for "evidence". The dividing line was AGE and EDUCATION.

So my point stands.

You are just making excuses for them. Like so many others in the UK. Problem is, the end result if this enabling of lack of aspiration and mediocrity is a much poorer country.

So...congratulations on levelling down the entire country?

You won't like what comes next.

We are a poorer country because of Tory policies and that includes Brexit.

Exactly I completely agree with what what you are saying idealogicly, if we can get to that point great but I don’t think the 20% vat if going to be enough to fund it in short term never mind pay for whatever else it is supposed to be paying for

I barely use the nhs as I’ve not been ill or had an accident, that’s not something to be proud of it’s something to be grateful for. I would much rather not have have had moneys worth. You only need one near fatal car accident where the paramedics come out and you are blue lighted to hospital with emergency surgery and you will have pretty much have got back what you’ve paid in

@coffeeaddict77

And who do you think voted for the Tories in 2019?

The very same lower income people that are complaining about the state school system falling apart.

So no, I have zero sympathy on that front for them as they were warned hundreds of times by many experts. Myself included.

So now they will get a lot poorer. And have even less access to public services. The only question remaining is: how much poorer and how much will their access to public services deteriorate. You are seeing the initial stages of this effect play out now in real time. Much more to come in the next few years.

Also, in case you didn't get the memo, the higher earners in the UK already paid a very high amount of tax pre-Brexit. But asking them to pay even more tax to subsidise the Brexit vote of the lower earners is a bridge too far given they are now taking material hits to their standard of living.

Thats also why they are leaving. "No thanks" is basically their collective response as they do have other options.

Oh boo Fucking hoo.

So you think only lower income people voted for the Tories or for Brexit?😂