Starmer defends controversial private schools VAT policy by arguing it will benefit middles classes
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Days before it is imposed, Downing Street insists 20 per cent tax will deliver more funds for state schools and so ‘drive up standards’ for majority. Keir Starmer has defended his controversial policy of imposing VAT on private schools by arguing it will benefit the middle classes.
![[Over the weekend, education secretary Bridget Phillipson called tax exemptions for private schools ‘a luxury we cannot afford’]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/17/14/d6fae11d094a47bd4d41cda81f6f797dY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM0NTMwMzA0-2.76623421.jpg)
On Monday, days before it takes effect, Downing Street insisted the tax will deliver more funds for state schools and so “drive up standards” for the majority who cannot afford surging fees in the independent sector. Described by No 10 as “the right thing to do” for the state sector, the 20 per cent levy on fees will be imposed from 1 January.
![[Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch attacked Labour’s private schools VAT policy again on Monday]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/27/19/2186802c7e9741ed2c3d3e57ad702aa5Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM1NDEyMzMx-2.78506698.jpg)
Over the weekend, education secretary Bridget Phillipson called tax exemptions for private schools “a luxury we cannot afford”, arguing that middle-class parents priced out of the independent sector supported Labour’s policy. The prime minister’s official spokesperson told The Times: “[Fees have] gone up by something like 75 per cent in real terms since 2000. The average fee has reached something like £18,000 a year, which is clearly out of reach for the majority of parents in our country.”.
When asked if only the rich were able to afford such surging costs, he said: “Middle-class people in good professional jobs with housing costs can’t afford that level of fees.”. Insisting that the tax “commands the support of the majority of the public”, the spokesman continued: “The additional investment that we’re able to make into our state schools will drive up standards in our state schools.”.
