Private schools tax backlash fed by educated elite, suggests Starmer

Private schools in the Labour spotlight

Sir Keir Starmer has claimed the backlash against his plans to put VAT on school fees is down to the fact that so many in Westminster and the media were privately educated.

In an interview with Sky News, the Labour leader repeated his view that there is “no evidence” to show that schools will have to close as part of his party’s changes.

And he said an “element” of the backlash was down to the way prominent figures in the world of politics had themselves been educated.

Labour plans to remove tax exemptions that private schools enjoy, including subjecting fees to 20 per cent VAT. The money raised will pay for improved maths teaching in the private sector.

Asked whether he believed much of the opposition was generated by those who either went to private school or send their children there, Sir Keir said: “I think there’s an element of that. But parents across the country say to me, if they’ve got children in private school, that they’re concerned about it, and I go through the reason why we’re doing it with them, explain to them that schools don’t have to pass it on to them.”

The Labour leader also said he did not believe private schools would have to close.

Sky’s Sophy Ridge asked him whether private schools should have to make savings in the same way that state schools do, such as by increasing class sizes or making some staff redundant.

Sir Keir replied: “Yes, I think they will adapt. And they’ve had lots of increases in costs over the last 10, 14 years, and they’ve accommodated it.

“And there’s no evidence to show that these schools will close. They don’t have to pass the cost on to parents.

“But it is a tough choice. It’s a difficult choice. I’m not going to sit here and pretend that this is ideological or easy, because I do understand that many parents work hard and save hard to send their children to private school, because they’ve got aspirations for their child.

“Every single parent has aspiration for their child, including every parent of a child in that state secondary school.”

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