To marvel at privately educated Keir Starmer's hypocrisy?

[Bursarysadness]

Both Kier Starmer and his wife are privately educated. Kier's senior school converted into a private school in the second year of his attendance and he has received a generous full bursary up until his A levels. He has built his life and his success on this education, supported to the end by the bursary funded by the same schools and parents he is now trying to destroy. It pains me as my children receive 50% bursaries from a brilliant local school. We've worked incredibly hard to cover the remaining 50% but it has been worth it, seeing how my children blossomed. We had a very different experience in their primary state schools, including bullying and racism. We don't live in a great area. We have just been told that the school will probably reduce all their bursaries to be able to lower the fees for the non bursary parents who are now struggling because of the VAT introduction. I don't know what the future for my children is now and they have so many close friends where they are. They are both academically brilliant and work very hard - hence the bursaries were granted. I feel so depressed that, from what is becoming obvious, they won't be able to benefit from the generosity of bursaries the same way Kier Starmer did when he was a child ..

Keir's parents made the choice about where to send him. He didn't, he was a child. No hypocrisy on his part.
I am not sorry for your situation and fully support labour's position on private schools.

I'm sure some state schools are bad but my daughter thrived at her bog standard comprehensive. Went to a top university and is doing very well. I agree with a previous poster that some of you are making state schools sound like the wild west which is unfair.

Actually vat is being appied to all school clubs inc piano lessons etc. If you go private u pay vat on them, if u go state u dont. They're just making a clear distinction on who they want to punish

Ate you on the fb group about vat on private schools, they need u

All while benefitting from his free private education. His hypocrisy started early!

Ah bt wd 6% of schools teachers really make a difference to the other 94% ? ;-)

Doesnt change the fact that Starmer got on through merit

Great that we are now judging our politicians on their behaviour as teenagers. Farage, Johnson and Sunak won't come out well. And, to be clear, I'm not a Corbyista, but his worst enemy can't say he hasn't been consistent in his attitudes for pushing 70 years!

She was democratically elected. You'd prefer a Boris or a Truss, with their better education. However, they both messed up spectacularly.

'The poor' and the not so poor didn't vote for Labour so you would pay VAT on school fees. They voted for a party they believed offered the best prospect for their own lives and in some cases other people's. Its ridiculous to expect people to put that aside to avoid a voting for a party with a policy that upsets you. I get you're upset and it's making you bitter. But punching down in your disempowerment on 'poor people' gloating as you imagine their children will suffer more, reflects very badly on you, and in turn your cause. If you don't like it, launch the legal challenges. Campaign in the right quarters. Fund raise ('the poor' manage to feed whole communities this way by starting and running foodbanks!) But all this bile and vitriol directed at vulnerable people who are by no means the authors of your demise is of no help to you or anyone else.

Then I imagine parents will choose piano lessons etc that are not connected to the school. As far as I can see these will not be affected

I agree with @5128gap Those saying “but this VAT policy is unfair to us” are the ones who have been benefiting from a system that’s intrinsically unfair for years.

People voted Labour for myriad reasons. Some selfish, some unselfish. Just like the OP and those beating their chests about this on mn constantly. I personally will undoubtedly be worse off under Labour. I voted for them because I believe they will be better for wider society.

Kier took the 11+ as his parents wanted him in the school that segregates DC according to intelligence. It then became a private school, which he stayed at for free. When he went to Uni, he would have got all his Uni fees paid for, and student grants. He would’ve come out with zero debt.

He was brought up in Reigate. Anyone ever been to leafy, middle class Surrey? I used to live there. From WC northern, deprived city to spiffing Surrey. It’s full of MC really well off white people. It’s the poshest place in the country as in, every single town and village is teaming with million+ pound houses. Imagine what their state schools are like?

Keir Starmer used to go round his town trying to convert them to socialism. Not sure how well he did with all those investment bankers round there.

His wife went to a girls private school in London. Bet that was nice.

Keir is a champagne socialist. They are very dangerous.

Over the past week the scales have actually fallen from my eyes. I thought he was a decent bloke.

We’ve actually been duped. He’s not been sincere in the run up to the election, but then he didn’t win, he got in by default. He actually has an ideology that he is following.I think he has the potential to really f*ck things up.

My background and education are not unlike Starmer's: working class, passed 11+, got a full scholarship to an independent school (although I grew up on a dead rough Croydon council estate).

It wasn't until I left school that I realised how incredibly privileged I was, and that instilled in me a passionate belief that all children deserve an education as good as the one I had, and that the only way to do that was improve state schools.

Does that make me a hypocrite, too?

Charitable status has not been removed nor is it in the agenda yet.

Does that make me a hypocrite, too?

If you create government policy that makes many SEN and bursary children have to leave their school and move, causing a lot of stress, when you had a very cushy education, then yes it would make you a hypocrite.

@WhysEverythingABallAche
It must have been so hard for Keir-being Prime Minister and in charge of everything when he was 11.

Incidentally-you're wrong about Surrey. Particularly Surrey 50 years ago.

And what is a "champagne socialist"?

Or even a Tony Blair or Gordon Brown?? Remember the 2008 crash, an even bigger mess up.

Someone who puts the world to rights with their friends at a nice dinner party, in between the pinot and the dessert wine.

I'm afraid Jeremy Corbyn's socialist parents sent him first to a fee paying prep school and then to a highly selective grammar school so Jeremy also benefitted from an education his political principles are now firmly against.
He did however get a divorce from his second wife caused in part (according to the media) because of differences in opinion over sending their son to grammar school!

Starmer has done more for social equality that just chats at dinner parties on how best to improve society for all

All this drama absolutely agree and family members who are teachers say exactly the same.

It’s not the schools or the teachers that are at fault it’s the parenting so wider society. Schools are at the coal face of having to pick the pieces of the results of the appalling parenting and attitudes instilled (or lack of). In my day even the roughest families respected and supported the school.

But vat is supposed to be a luxury’ tax, surely education is not a luxury? So many nasty comments on here from people that can’t afford private education but would use it if they had the money! Hypocrites!!!

I have the money, I also went to private school, I still believe it needs to be taxed.

Private education is a luxury, it is not available to those that don't have the money to pay for it. State education is available to all.