I am troubled to see that Labour’s short-sighted proposal to tax independent school fees is enduring. It appears that Labour is re-adopting Jeremy Corbyn’s damaging flagship proposals.
Independent schools educate more than 500,000 children in the UK. All, or even part of, that number of pupils being released into the state education sector would be hard to absorb and lead to huge disruption for millions of children across the country. The policy to put VAT on fees would not raise nearly enough money to cater for the disruption and the creation of new state school places.
These schools provide a vital service to our local community in Kensington. Not only do they educate a large number of children without relying on local authorities’ funding, they also offer bursaries for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, and their community outreach benefits local state schools free of charge.
Independent schools offer a big net benefit to Kensington and places like it across the country. The Labour Party would do well to stop taxing aspiration and appreciate this.
If you, too, are concerned about this matter, please sign my petition below.
