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

[JustSpeechless]

PM suggests £20,000 donation was for ‘son to study for GCSEs’ | The Independent

Sorry if there are other threads, but I did search and nothing came up.

“My boy, 16, was in the middle of his GCSEs. I made him a promise, a promise that he would be able to get to his school, do his exams, without being disturbed,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“But if you’re a 16-year-old trying to do your GCSEs and it’s your one chance in life – I promised him we would move somewhere, get out of the house and go somewhere where he could be peacefully studying.

So its OK for the PM to be worried about his child's "one chance" GCSE year being disturbed ...but he's not so worried about other people's children feeling stressed during their GCSEs by introducing the private school VAT during an academic school year.

I don't have a child in private school doing their GCSEs. And I know that there are lots of people who support the VAT and those who don't.

But I think there is a midline where lots of people on both sides of the fence agree making this change during an academic year is not fair on the kids in key exam years...and I am one of them because not all parents have a Lord Alli to step in to ensure their child's "one chance" GCSE year is not being disturbed.

For Voting:

Unreasonable - I am with Keir and I am not really bothered with other people's children's "one chance" school year being interrupted.

Not Unreasonable - I agree Labour should not interrupt the academic school year and introduce the VAT in September 2025.

Well it sounds like you might then be mixing with the very rich and wealthy - and its likely you are one of those parents whose children are not going to be effected because you can easily pay and are happy to.

If you really want to know my political leaning - I'm a child of an immigrant mother, we were so poor growing up we didn't have enough food to eat...so I have voted Labour for most of my voting adult life (30 plus years) because I believe that everyone should have a decent standard of living: I am happy to pay more taxes for better schools, for the NHS, for teachers, families with disabled children, the elderly and anyone else who struggles to achieve a decent standard of living.

But I also have a strong moral compass for what is right and fair - and I think the government should charge all of us more tax for improved education...targeting private school parents, many of whom have used the private school system to help their children with SEN needs, just feels wrong to me.

Did I vote for Keir recently? No, I think Keir's a plonker. But I also think Boris Johnson is a plonker too if that helps.

You have a lot of money if you can do what you are saying you would do - not everyone is as liquid / has a great credit rating as you clearly do!

"If that VAT made it unaffordable for me to send my child to the same school up until the end of year 13, I'd just pay the VAT on the year 11 fees from the money I had earmarked for year 12 and year 13 fees. If I was paying school fees out of income rather than capital then worst comes to worst, I'd put the VAT element of the year 11 fees on an interest free credit card or take out a low interest loan for it and pay it off while my child was in year 12. That would still be much less than the school fees I'd have been planning to pay up until this year. I would thereby avoid disruption to my child's GCSE year."

he is a complete self entitled and tone deaf clown. How we ended up with him. My DC cannot attend school due to crippling anxiety and depression and an (yet undiagnosed) ASD as there is no provision. Is one rule for them, and another for the rest of us.

Isn't it funny they can get paid all this stuff because of their job but then pay no tax on it? Pay the taxes on it Keir and no one will care less

I don't at all, my kids are at local state primary school/preschool and i couldn't afford the fees for the school I went to myself now. But most private school parents with children in Y11 will by definition have a lot of money and will have budgeted somehow for school fees up until the end of Y13. One or both of these options will likely be available to them, if they find themselves unable to pay 6th form fees plus VAT.

This is all getting very theoretical but the point is that the original post is a straw man. Kier Starner isn't trying to disrupt a load of children's GCSE years while protecting his own son's GCSE study period, because putting VAT on private school fees won't mean that most children currently in Y11 at private schools will have to move schools because of the VAT. * *

I think maybe you might now get the point of some private school parents with SEN kids - your notion that all private school parents have so much money they have access to funds meant for future years is just very very wrong.

I said most, not all (twice).

i’m guessing Reform

Still not most! How can you make a sweeping comment about thousands of parent's disposal income - without any stats to back it up - and maintain your perception is right? Its just not logical.

Perhaps if his father and the rest of the Cabinet hadn't accepted £800,000 in freebies and gifts THIS YEAR, the journos wouldn't be there or be hostile in the first place.

It is completely ogical to assume that a majority of private school parents have a decent amount of disposable income - because they can afford to send their children to private school. By definition that is something that is normally only an option for people with a really decent amount of disposable income, or else help from family, or savings.

Do you have any statistics on hand to show that most private school parents are living month to month with no plan in place for funding the next year's fees?

They didn’t. That figure is over five years. 🤷‍♀️

I think that's exactly right.

People do, or did, think that Labour wouldn't be like this, that they'd be better than that. But Free Gear Keir, his wife and the rest of his cohorts have sadly proved that theory wrong in record time.

To be honest I think it's shocked most people no matter how much we say "oh they're all same" . 😕

@Alltheprettyseahorses Really ? You’ve got a pretty low bar of tolerance for labour and a mountainous one for the tories. Did you give a toss about Johnson back in the day ? And reading previous posts you’re not exactly neutral are you ?
How will you cope with ‘honest’ Jenrick when he’s elected opposition leader ?

How short memories are.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-wallpaper-gold-flat-carrie-invoice-b2118185.html

Never known such a disgruntled shower of opposition party activists posters ? Their ‘team’ had 14 years to sort stuff out. They didn’t. Actually wondering whether they are mainly Faragists rather than Tories. What with all the nicknames for Starmer dragged over from SM.
Funnily enough this is all reminiscent of Trump’s stubborn denial that Bidden won the election, there’s a repeated theme on certain websites that Starmer didn’t win, the Tories lost, he’s not our rightful PM. Really makes you wonder who really wants to drag the UK into chaos. Surely if you’re a loyal Brit you want the best for your country.

someone "offers" him temporary accommodation for £20,000??

And this man is running the UK? Gawd help us.

They shouldn’t be allowed gifts.

GMC tells doctors to decline gifts over £10 but politicians can accept a value of £20000. It is unethical, no one believes you can’t buy influence.

You might as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb

But I didn't use the word 'most' I used the word 'some' and I also didn't say parents were living hand to mouth - what I did say is some private school parents don't have these high levels of income where they have stashed money away for future years fees. They just don't. I know plenty like this and so the word 'some' fits my understanding. The fees for standard not-too-flash but the small class sizes will suit your SEN child private schools in our area are £23k a year - people are not setting aside in advance this level of money for future years. They are just not - they are working and paying the fees in the same year they are due.

This is a false equivalence to the point of absurdity

Must mix in different circles to me then. I know nobody who can ever afford private education. Could never accumulate £23k in one year. Hell, it’s not much less than my entire annual wage. You’re normalising something beyond the means of most.

That's what you get when you half listen to a story. Starmer is a massive Arsenal fan & has had a season ticket for a very long time as has his son. He still buys these season tickets but Arsenal suggested they give him a box so the security costs to the tax payer are less. So he still pays & he costs the tax payer less.

You think Johnson bought his own clothes? Johnson didn't even buy his own food.

@TeenagersAngst - how many times did Sunak go to football? Answer, not many. Starmer goes very often.