To feel so upset about the government censorship?

[Utterlydisillusioned]

This has just appeared in my news feed and I feel so upset and disillusioned. I was a labour voter, thinking we voted the bad guys out but I'm now really scared about what we've let in...what on earth have we done...? https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/08/17/education-secretary-bridget-phillipson-private-school-tax-r/

Well I can sympathise with both. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.

People like you keep saying that these children can just go to state school but some parents are contacting their LEAs and being told that there are no places locally or that they are inundated with applications so it will be weeks before they get a response.

Furthermore, many of the LEA application pages actually warn parents against moving their children from one school to another unless they are moving location due to the disruption it causes pupils. Do you think that those LEAs are wrong about this?

I’ve seen plenty of teachers on mumsnet saying they have not experienced former private school pupils being turned away from state schools. So there seems to be a disconnect.

Are you taking about recent applications as a result of this VAT policy?

Yes

The issue isn’t private school pupils being turned away, it’s that the capacity doesn’t exist in some areas which is going to result in some pupils having very long journeys at the cost of the local authority or by schools having to increase class sizes. To give you an example, out of 30 primary schools in the city where my DC goes to school, there isn’t a single spare year 5 place in any school and only one primary has year 6 places. I don’t know about other years as the application only covered those years. Another parent that I know applied for a place for his child weeks ago and still hasn’t heard back from the LEA.

In any event, you haven’t answered my query regarding disruption.

Pupils in state schools get disrupted all the time if the teachers stories on mn are to be believed. But that’s okay because they usually come from poorer backgrounds and nicer postcodes so don’t really matter as much.

At the end of the day children are adaptable.

Who knows maybe this government will actually do something about the current failing education system and build new schools along with their new drive to recruit teachers.

The schools where I live have a massive influx of refugees so I really don’t know how they are making room for everybody.

One things for sure if this doesn’t work kier is going to be in for one hell of a backlash. Maybe it will be the wake up call our education system needs as government isn’t listening to teachers, so maybe they’ll listen to all the middle class parents of former pupils from private schools kicking up a stink.

*worse postcodes

Why on earth would you think a left wing party would be centrist?

Also when you’re paying for something as luxurious as a private education and don’t have an endless pot of money, then why wouldn’t people have contingency plans for losing everything in hard times.

Surely something like this would be classed as falling on hard times in proportion to having the luxury of privately educating your children.

Most of these parents will also still be able to afford to pay tutors on top of state school too.

Is it really the Greek tragedy it’s being painted out to be by some.

Thank you. I'm not a Tory but I am very very very upset at this... I don't want this. I want a country where we are free to question, express our objections and where democratically elected cabinet ministers have a duty to respond and engage with those who elected them. It's not about which side you are on. It's about democracy, respect and freedom. Anyone who says "this is how it is, you are stupid and should just accept it". I don't. The same way people didn't accept communism, racism or misogyny. I find it disturbing

But we do live a country where you can do this.

You can email your MP, turn up to surgery's, type these sort of posts on MN.

What you can't do is expect someone else to allow posts they don't want in their own SM.

NO politician has or does. NO celebrity has it does.

But you've chose to react because the Telegraph who posts inflammatory anti labour headlines about 6 times a day has "alleged" that an MP is censoring her own account.

Can you really not see this isn't new, isn't news, and isn't the major deal you're making it out to be.

Especially for someone who apparently reads the media as part of their job.

This whole VAT on private education has been something that's been never ending in SM since it was announced way before the election. At one point 50% of the posts on MN active we're about it. No one is censoring discussion around it.

😂😂

Someone been over to the FB page.

There are still 160 odd posts on there and are 50/50 positive and negative.

And of those 50% are clearly posters like here who just post a sentence without substance (on both sides!)

It's even more obvious when you actually read the thread and comments how much this is the Telegraph being The Telegraph.

And let's be honest - that post and "this will be screenshot" and then it disappearing means nothing.

You do realise that anyone can do that and delete their own post 👀

I'm more worried about how gullible posters are rather than a post that could be answered by email disappearing

I realised how much censorship was happening during COVID. It's quite an upsetting realisation. At least your Mumsnet post is still up! I think it's really important we all stand up for free speech. This can mean saying (very nicely) what we actually think, however hard. Also see the Free Speech Union. A truth that can't stand up to debate and criticism is no truth at all. Labelling anything "misinformation" and calling people whose opinions we don't like names "racist, privileged, far right, telegraph readers, thugs, anti vaxxers, brexiteers, liberal elite, wokerati etc." is extremely unhelpful to creating a thriving and tolerant society where the truth prevails. Please, please stand up for free speech all the time on every issue. It cannot be an elective right.

Labour Leeches are robbing pensioners of their pensions and making cuts to winter fuel payments. My elderly uncle who is in his nineties and has a poor memory voted labour. I doubt he really understood what he was voting for.

A lot of folk don’t like tories but better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.

Angela Rayner cannot be trusted and Keir Starmer is out of his depth. They’re nothing but a pair of confidence tricksters and they will run this country into the ground.

Deluded

No - there will likely be civil unrest due to rampant inflation, tax rises, and the curtailment of free speech and women's rights, which will force them to call a snap election.

Lol we had all that under the tories as well as rampant corruption and there was no civil unrest

Jesus you can really tell how skewed mumsnet is when the VAT on private schools is the main topic of conversation and gets brought up several times no matter what the OP is about when such a tiny portion of people actually use private schooling.

I have had a lot of fun reading this thread.
Thanks 😂
OP a couple of people have replied that your second article about universities and free speech has been interpreted wrongly by you, I can't see any response to this from you? I also believe you have not fully understood it? I think you felt because it was in the Guardian rather than the Torygraph it helped your case but I don't believe it does.

Only if they were genuine posters.

It's in the telegraph. Now with the internet most newspapers can't pay their way and the telegraph is just a megaphone for wealthy neoliberals. It's not to be trusted on its news analysis

We had a referendum of PR in 2011. The FPTP won by nearly 70%. Do you not respect the view of the British people? Are you not a patriot that subscribes to the notion of “Vox Populi, Vox Dei“? So you think you know better than the great people of this sceptre’d Isle?

it was the will of the British people to have FPTP. Should we waste money on constantly having referendums until we get the result you want? This money could be spent on the NHS instead.

@Utterlydisillusioned ypure quite literally censoring the comments you reply to. Anyone who points out tories have been doing it for years are ignores. People telling you the correct way to.complain to an mp, ignored. People who disagree with you and talk about Labour policies are told not to.derail the thread, where as those who agree and discuss policies are thanked for widening the discussion.

You need yo check your own internal censorship and bias.

Who is robbing pensioners of their pensions? Are you talking about the WASPI women? That’s been going on for some time and isn’t because of the current government.