VAT on private schools paved the way for disability cuts

[BellesAndGraces]

Charging VAT on private schools was such a vote winner for Labour. Pitted the so called “haves” against the “have-nots” and distracted everyone from the rest of Labour’s policies. Many who couldn’t afford to privately educate their own kids were “full of glee” at Labour’s policy. They didn’t care that many of those parents were sending their kids to private schools to address SEN that were not met in state schools.

Now, Labour is cutting disability benefits, but the divisive nature of the VAT policy may have left the “haves” feeling less inclined to speak out against a policy that disproportionately affects the “have-nots.” Well played, Labour—it turns out they’ve been playing chess while the Tories were stuck on chequers.

Was this autistic child being a disruption and/or having meltdowns in school?

Nice try OP! Got to shoe horn in the rich losing a tax break somehow… it’s not working. Only an idiot would think that the 2 are directly related.

Don't most people agree - on both sides - that there are a HUGE number of people claiming benefits who shouldn’t be and we need to do something about it??

I think that’s irrelevant, don’t you?

I hope that they are clever enough to have done that, but I doubt it.

You are right. People feel fooled and can’t admit it. Whilst they have been busy crashing the economy and causing redundancies and recruitment freezes. They were “look over here, nasty rich.” People fell for it.

Labour took everyone for fools; they were putting out sound bites and people were clapping like seals - lapping it up. Not thinking that the reasonably well off are already changing their behaviour. Reducing tax. These policies don’t actually impact the rich. Then the private sector jobs market is a car crash since the budget. The private sector funds the public sector. That shrinks - there is less for state. We are now seeing this with NHS jobs and welfare.

People can’t see the link as they don’t want to or they feel fooled. So they should. Between the disaster that were the Tories and now this - they are handing the keys to a disenfranchised population to make European style vote swings.

Just wondering why these parents wanted one particular child pushed out.

Most people didn’t care about VAT on schools, it wasn’t particularly a vote winner as it really is of little or no consequence to most people, so the idea they were all gleeful is ridicule. -where is the evidence for this? No connection whatsoever to welfare benefits shakeup - needs doing . Have heard a guy on the radio who is autistic ,in employment, who has a combined income with partner of £6k a month gets £400 pm pip- how can this be right? He said pip paid for his therapy.

I see no connection between the two. One is reasonable and the other is abusive to vulnerable people.

Yes, this is where I am too. We don’t send our kids to a private school, but the glee with which those changes were greeted (even though they raise the square root of fuck all and are purely ideological) was eye-opening, as is the shit thrown at any poster who happens to earn well if they ask for help/advice and fail to “read the room”. All in all it means that this particular “have” isn’t that bothered about the plight of most “have-nots” anymore (significant disability aside of course).

All benefits should be means tested- if we accept child benefit & winter fuel allowance being means tested then there is zero justification for any benefits being exempted from means testing. PIP absolutely should be means tested.

It’s not related.
Most kids at private school are not SEN.

I think it is an example of how privileged people can be out of touch with anyone who falls outside of societal conventions. And they simply don’t care about anyone who might do something to disturb their privileged sphere of existence.

"I have no sympathy with the millions of people currently terrified because some people on mumsnet were mean about private schools".

Yes, before the VAT increase, there was no haves/have nots at all, and everyone was united in their view that those with disabilities should have increased benefits. Whatever will disability campaigners do without the people who you seem to think are thinking “well if I have to pay VAT, the disabled can fuck right off”.

I hope you warmed up before making that leap. I cannot see the link at all.

How about my disabled child? Who had sympathy for my child? Scroll through any VAT thread on here (including one I started) and you will see so many people saying they have made sacrifice upon sacrifice to send their disabled children or children with SEN to private schools because they were being failed by the state system. These are not rich people wiping their tears with £5 notes. But let’s trivialise that vitriol to “some people on Mumsnet were mean about private schools”.

This doesn’t fly, I’m afraid. My daughter is in reception at a very tiny, non-selective private school. She’s autistic and has very severe anxiety. She can’t transition but is academically able and she’s thriving because we were able to make this choice for her to be in such a small group all the time. We’ve had her parents evening today, so it’s fresh in my mind.

I am not at all well off but since my daughter’s dad is a high earner we were able to have the luxury to make this choice for her and I do not begrudge the VAT we have to pay.

At the end of the day, my daughter is very lucky because we have a choice. There are plenty of parents in our position who have a child lost in a class of 30, fighting the council for an EHCP. As a result, their child isn’t fulfilling their potential.

Can you understand why people wouldn't want a disruptor in their class?

My daughter was in that class, remember? The child wasn’t particularly disruptive and at the end of the day, the school had agreed to meet her needs.

Can you not understand how encouraging your children to provoke and upset a disabled child is nothing short of evil?

One of the parents involved in this nastiness ended up with her own daughter getting severe anorexia and having to leave school at 15. I wonder if she learned anything about kindness.

You may be happy to pay VAT, what about those in similar positions who then have to move their dc because they can’t do the same?

Why be happy about VAT when you know how they’d be impacted.