Is Labour's private school plan unfair? Feat. James Haskell & Ayesha Hazarika | Jeremy Vine

Sir Keir Starmer has defended Labour's policy to add 20% VAT onto private school fees, calling it a 'tough' choice that will fund 'important' changes.
That's despite fears the extra cost could force pupils into state schools and cause classroom sizes to balloon.
Those were fueled over the weekend by Labour frontbencher Emily Thornberry in an interview with Camilla Tominey of GB News.
Jeremy Vine on 5 is on television every weekday at 9:15am until 1:30pm on Channel 5.
Subscribe to the channel for more celebrity interviews, hot topics and debates: bit.ly/34DvAv4
Twitter: / jeremyvineon5
Facebook: / jeremyvineon5
Instagram: / jeremyvineon5
#JeremyVine #Labour #PrivateSchool

[@bukowskijr5364]

Jeremy Vine should mention that he went to one of the most elite public school's in the country, Epsom College.

[@Finnbo2000]

Completely agree with James Haskell. My biggest frustration with labour is treating all people in the top 70% like they are the top 5%.

[@davecross4493]

You think 70% of the population send their kids to private schools?

[@martinhammett8121]

Its not adding tax its saying these private school are charities is plain wrong ! they should not be VAT exempt

[@AnnaP-uh3mc]

These guys just illustrated why there shouldn’t be an option to pay to be bumped up a heart transplant list. We all would want to prioritise our own loved ones but it is morally wrong.

[@briankerrison8504]

I think the media are blowing this out of proportion.. if we look how private education is mostly afforded.. 🙄🙄🙄🤔😎

[@benadams6767]

You pay VAT on almost everything you buy. Why should private education be any different?

[@teem5642]

Because it's a charity. You also don't pay vat on everything.

[@benadams6767]

@@teem5642 Why does it qualify as a charity? There is no reason for them to have this status. They charge a large amount of money each pupil. They sometimes offer a very limited number of scholarships where, in some cases, these pupils are heavily hit up for money when they start earning. The are also supposed to come back yearly to the school to extoll the thanks they should have for their education and explaining their lives would have been so much worse if the school hadn't helped them. It ignores the fact that private schools only offer these deals to the absolute top pupils, who would have done well anyway, to other scholarship pupils. The fee paying students are not required to do this. The only reason they are a charity is because they hold a lot of influence over those in power.

[@user-zw3bg9vr5g]

Parents are saving Councils a fortune by paying to have their children privately educated. I believe that should balance out any issues regarding money.

[@benadams6767]

@@user-zw3bg9vr5g The savings for the individual councils are minimal, the number of children in private schools simply aren't enough to make a significant difference to local government budgets as these private schools are scattered across the country. Also, whether you agree with VAT or not, it is added to most goods and services, which are taxed afterwards in terms of things like corporation tax. You can even go further and say that nothing should have VAT added as we are usually taxed on our income. There is always an argument to not have a tax, but without them we would not have many of the vital services which are required in society.

[@teem5642]

@@benadams6767 if they are registered as a charity then that means they don't operate as a for profit basis, however teachers, buildings etc have to be paid for. Some pvt schools however are for profit

[@petermizon4344]

private schools a buisness end of

[@Bertieboy-v7y]

I work in a private school, it's a not for profit system. The people who send their children there are already paying tax to pay for the state education, only difference is, they're not using it!.

[@petermizon4344]

@@Bertieboy-v7y IN A CIVILISED COUNTRY WE SHOULDNT NEED PRIVATE SCHOOLS THEY ARE OPEN TO MORE ABUSE

[@davecross4493]

@@Bertieboy-v7y There are also private schools in the UK that operate on a for-profit basis. These schools can generate profits and distribute them to owners or investors. The primary goal of these institutions, like other for-profit businesses, is to make money. Yours may not, but that is not true of them all. Would say about the non profit ones that, although they reinvest the profits, higher salaries in non-profit private schools can raise questions about financial priorities.

[@Bertieboy-v7y]

Collective punishment then??

[@ricardosmythe2548]

There private buisnesses they should pay VAT like any other buisness

[@johnflett1626]

In 1979, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government made a significant change to the VAT regime: the higher rate was abolished and a new unified standard rate was introduced at 15%, almost double the previous standard rate of 8% The VAT reforms were part of a concerted effort to switch the incidence of taxation away from earnings and towards spending. Over the course of the Thatcher government, VAT revenue growth outpaced revenues from income and wealth taxation. John Major’s Conservative government raised the standard rate from 15% to 17.5% George Osborne increased the standard rate of VAT from 17.5% to 20% in 2011.

[@pauljones-hj8rg]

I wonder how many Labour Party MP's had the privilege of a private education and then onto university, studied politics, became a researcher for mp's then parachuted into a safe seat without ever having a real job, no wonder this country is in such a mess, after never had an education in the school of life. Just a thought.

[@AmSam-tp4ck]

Why do parents buy a private education for their children? Is it a selfless sacrifice to help the government provide more school places and resources to the general population? Of course not. It is because they know that having a private education will give their children an advantage over their peers whose parents cannot (or, in some cases, choose not to) afford a private education. It's not merely a product of quality of instruction or class size either: in addition to being educational institutions, private schools are, inevitably, social institutions, and they function as exclusive social clubs for children from affluent families. When you buy a private education for your child, you also receive as an added bonus a ready-made network of influential connections that will benefit that child for the rest of her or his life. They will form strong bonds with peers who will one day inherit wealth, property, businesses, political legacies and social standing that others outside their school will have to fight very hard to gain. A private education is therefore an extremely valuable and, understandably, an extremely costly product. A private education is an unfair advantage that one can, provided they have the means, purchase for their child. I frankly struggle to understand how anyone justifies giving people a tax break to purchase such a product.

[@twistedcherrypop]

Thing is the public schools choose to charge what they charge. They could absorb the costs. Why should a public school get a tax break?

[@Bertieboy-v7y]

Everyone who pays income tax is already paying for state education... but people who's children go to private schools aren't using the state schools that they are paying for.... is that so hard to understand????

[@petermizon4344]

DO THESE PARENTS STRUGGLE THAT MUCH THEY CAN PUT FOOD ON TABLE ??? ANYBODY ???

[@keirmitchell5560]

stop having kids if you cant afford to feed them.

[@petermizon4344]

@@keirmitchell5560 YOU ARE A BACKWARD PERSON,EVERYONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE AT LEAST 2 KIDS, AND THE POPULATION IS SHRINKING SO WHO WILL PAY FIR YOUR STATE PENSION ?? OR ARE YOU THAT RICH LIFE DOESN'T BOTHER YOU ???

[@petermizon4344]

@@keirmitchell5560 AT 73 I HAD MINE LOL LABOUR ARE PUTTING THINGS RIGHT BUT THEY AINT MAGICIANS

[@jonathanroberts9168]

If James Haskell went to private school I hope his parents kept the receipt.

[@blackrider7631]

Exactly, they’ve definitely not got their monies worth. He believes he’s got a gottcha moment with caller asking about that asks about the heart transplant. Money should not buy privilege.

[@SamRoberts-ng3pu]

I'm sure you've achieved more than him, Johnathan Roberts.

[@adampeckham8541]

​@@SamRoberts-ng3puMaybe if he went to private school he would have 😊

[@SamRoberts-ng3pu]

@@adampeckham8541 Indeed.

[@richardleach5514]

Badly thought out policy - not only does the Gov save money for each child sent to a private school but still collects the tax from the parents. Schools fees are paid out of parents taxed income. An 8,000 school saves HMG about 6,000 plus the 2000 tax (more if they’re higher rate tax payers). Be brave, if Labour wants to improve schools put 1% on income tax that way parents sending kids to state schools also contribute (seems fair Mr Starmer) as well as parents sending kids to private schools.

[@spector969]

Lol big up Rosie from West Sussex! She was spot on!💯

[@MrHoopski]

why do people keep saying there isnt any money - the UK is bloody richer now than it was 10 years ago - the major issue is wealth has gone to the top 5-10% of earners in the country and the rest of us are poor - if we just taxe the say top 5% and extra 2% wealth tax it could generate over 50 billion a year - but labour or the tories wont do and I have no clue as to why and before anyone ask where do I get that info its from LSE study done two years ago - so it is viable

[@martinhammett8121]

The money hasn't gone to the top 10% its gone to the top 2%

[@RobinFanning-z1r]

What's more virtuous: Kier Starmer living in a £1.75M house near excellent state schools, or someone living in a £400k house near poor state schools but instead spending their money on getting their kids into a private school? I doubt Kier Starmer would send his kids to a state school if he was in the catchment of some of the worst in the country!

[@stephenglancy8551]

Haskell is thick as mince. That's why he is so grateful for the advantages he has had. He quite openly said you pay for a quicker, better service either in health or education. What a horrible way to look at life. Weirdly most of the people who pitch up on these programmes (like the two on this subject here) have benefitted from private education. Are they brighter or just lucky to have made more handy connections..........

[@NatashaCallan]

£700 million on the Rwanda project and £8 million A DAY on migrants accommodation. Maybe that could go on our children's education? Just a thought...

[@paulholdstock4751]

They are a business so treat them like any other

[@cumberbatch1249]

Why is government so stupid people in the uk are suffering financially due to Economic crisis, knowing this making things even more expensive to do prices are going up so it no longer matters if you earn more how foolish? The private schools should put their heads together and reduce their fees by 20%.

[@meganstewart9062]

You don't have to put your child in private school it is a choice you make as a parent. It does not matter if they go private or public if the child doesn't want to learn then they won't get a education one way or another.

[@user-ee1zb1fn3y]

I despise this government already. Envious of anybody with a bean more than the next person and treating them like Kulaks.

[@SpankableRoxyRaeOnlyfanscreato]

To live in the UK you after pay health care same as other countries what is funny about this nonsense. Before I started Onlyfans I worked in a state school that has to pay Vat but that's not told. 😂

[@martinhammett8121]

The number of private school pupils has increased by over 24k since 2021

[@theukeconomist6518]

Even if a percentage of pupils from private schools go into public schools they'll still receive more education via extra private tutoring, etc. You can make it 100% equal, parents will still pay for extra educational support to get their child ahead.

[@jujutrini8412]

James Haskell does not come across as a particularly well educated individual.

[@BuddysSeeds]

Labour are mad, Labour voters really need to move over to Reform uk

[@repentmaster2842]

Private schools should be more affordable so more lower/middle-class parents can choose what's best for their kids. Labour is utterly wrong to take this freedom away and save private schools for just the elites. Will vote Reform UK instead of Labour because of this

[@TinTin01234]

They pay for the level of education they child receives. Normal school need to have a better teacher system and more teachers that are paid well. And private schools need to offer a good amount of scholarships.

[@johnflett1626]

The latest annual census from the Independent Schools Council shows average fees for private day schools rose by 8% for the 2023-24 academic year to £18,064 a year. Among day schools, the majority charge £3,000-£6,000 a term. Boarding school fees went up by 9% to an average of £42,459 a year.

[@Leon-lt5gv]

Might aswell ' they weoponise the benifit system & the nhs ' its all well & good until some snob needs it 😫👀

[@jamesbond7107]

Never agreed with Private school's, apart from being elitist, they actually believe they are better, these people suggesting they will take their kids out of private is absolute rubbish they will find the money to keep their little cherubs in private education ,I've always said it you can ,write, spell read,and count your money you can still get a decent occupation .

[@richardparker7157]

Of course they are elitist. What's wrong with that? Drives up standards.

[@robertadams1054]

What about the Labour MPs who have and been to private schools, bloody hypocrites.

[@PastaSauce.]

No matter what - private schools should NOT have charity status. Absolutely ridiculous.

[@JacobLockepyt]

We scrimped and saved to pay £6000 a term.

[@blackrider7631]

Haskell once again talking out of his arse. Why should anyone be allowed to pay for a leg up?

[@leeskinka]

Haskell along with Parry, are great examples of why private education isn’t good value for money.

[@oliverdesvaux]

Sorry, what are your achievements in life compared to his exactly? 🤣

[@briankerrison8504]

Well said Micheal..👍👍😎

[@stephenglancy8551]

This programme is like Jeremy Kyle more than Jeremy Vine. Haskell is a tube.

[@sammorris641]

Not just this government. When i was a yeacher the labour government promised every school 60k tax free. IT NEVER HAPPENED! Taxing private schools will be the worse thing labour could do on the subject of education.

[@erichalfbee503]

Where are the calculations on this? They dont exist. At least ones that say, OK so the private schools will not have to charge VAT but that will also mean that they can re-claim VAT on everything they buy. Ooops, so not £4,000 per pupil per year. And what about the calculations to show is 5% of pupils pulled out of private education, what does that mean to the state sector? What about 10%? It costs an average of £7500 per year for the state to educate one child for a year. If a parent saves the tax payer £90,000 by sending their kids to a private school for 12 years, why is it acceptable to punish them? What about the cost to the UK economy if some schools go under and less foreign pupils come? Perhaps they will go to the US or somewhere else? Three schools went bankrupt in a 10 mile radiusin the SW near me. They were quite small schools but thats still jobs gone and less places for foreign kids to take. The champagne socialist millionaires might thing that this is a great soundbit for the lefties voters but there are no real figures behind this - just another example of the politics of envy.

[@pauljones-hj8rg]

I think its totally unfair. Remember it was the Labour party that did away with Grammar school's, which was the only way that tha more academic children had a chance to get a better education no matter what your social background was. The politics of envy once again. Just s thought.

[@johnrowlands1142]

What do all of these people mean working class, where is the dividing line?????? And as for the Labour activist who has had the privilege of being educated in the private sector, is now shouting out stopping other children having the opportunity. And for her and her private education, she has no understanding of basic economics and facts and figures, because if you work hard and struggle as parents to give your children the best opportunities, you know before you start going down this route, you are well aware that the fees will increase yearly due to normal inflation and they plan for it. But they could never have expected or planned for a government to slam them with an instant 20% rise in their education fees along with the normal inflation increases. And they will remain every year thereafter, and most of these parents are working class parents who want the best for their children. And again the Labour activist tells the most blatant lies, that her parents were working hard and just about coping, but if they had been in a similar situation they would have coped with the increases. Very easy to speak out antidotally and then use this lie as the justification for this backstabbing policy on the working class parents.

[@andymanning9573]

So here we the haves and have nots thats the problem with this country and the world 👎

[@tonyjones2838]

So you assume they won’t bring this in for this September as it’s too soon so anyway and half time it starts and takes time for vat to come in. Plus where are extra teachers ? Assume those in uni now would have always become teachers so if they are new it’s 3/4 years in uni first. Labour will gain nothing and will embarrass themselves on thsi policy.

[@maureenkeaing9232]

This is about choice and people should have the choice a lot of people who send their children to,private schools go without so they could send their children to private schools

[@rebeccajones9804]

Go without 😂 give us a break, so you go without any holidays, cut back on sky tv, mobile phones, dining out . Maybe you should get two or more jobs like you tell the poor to get

[@alandavies4174]

Well done Donna!!@ 👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻👍👍

[@grahambetteridge1441]

Ok for Labour MPs to send their children but not you or me

[@martinhammett8121]

It is ok for you to send your children to private school but these schools are not charities !

[@oliverdesvaux]

His point about paying for something is sound…. If you pay for a five star holiday in Spain instead of a caravan park in Skegness, perhaps WE should start targeting YOU and force u to stay in Lincolnshire to see how u like it?

[@user-zw3bg9vr5g]

Labours plans for Private schools is STUPID! I am a working class woman in my 70s. Leave Private Schools as they are they are needed people should be allowed to choose where and by whom their children are educated. When I hear how rowdy and dangerous State Schools have become I would do all I could to have my children educated in a private school. We must keep private schools they are an asset to our country.

[@TinTin01234]

Labour wants to drive out the wealthy and appeal to a certain demographic. What they could do is make sure private school have a good scholarship system to help those who couldn't afford to go to private school but would benefit from the system

[@adampeckham8541]

Its true. Private education has produced great people that have done great things for our country, Like Boris "No British prime minister could ever put an internal customs border in Northern Ireland because it would be detrimental to the union" Johnson ......... pfffffttttt

[@TinTin01234]

@@adampeckham8541 Boris Johnson was a joke of an PM, however why is there always punishment for those who word hard to be successful in this country. It's pathetic, if everyone isnt the same or someone becomes success people will try to pull them down. The people in this country are notorious for it A question got asked of Rishi is too rich to be PM, who cares how much money he has, he worked for it.

[@adampeckham8541]

@@TinTin01234 So I'm not actually against private education per se but our class based society does seem uniquely predisposed to favour the 6% of private school graduates for all the best positions in society. It can't be just because of "Hard Work", that's bollocks. A lot of it is the old boys network, we towel flicked each other in the showers at Harrow and Mason handshook our way into this wonderful banking job. Cmon that ain't fair by any stretch of the imagination. You wanna send kids to private school fine but not at the expense of other less fortunate kids that have to work harder to get anywhere near the same end goals

[@adampeckham8541]

@@TinTin01234 And I agree with you RE Scholarships

[@SpankableRoxyRaeOnlyfanscreato]

Does it mean there staff also save on paying NI/Tax I should have worked in a private school

[@D-A-H8585]

I sent my daughter and son to private schools because I work bloody hard. Key is if you work hard, you can choose to. For those less well off, either work harder or become a plumber or electrician and you can still make thousands.

[@patarciepaul]

There's no justification for there to be a tax break on private school fees. Also many people work hard and struggle to make ends meet.

[@D-A-H8585]

Let’s fund state schools by taxing the usurious bankers.

[@rebeccajones9804]

Poor people probably work harder than you , who are you to tell poor people to work harder, you sound arrogant, entitled and think you better

[@briankerrison8504]

So it’s based on affording advantage.. I’m sure a lot of average working class ppl, feel they have the advantage of numbers & by simple equations strength.. & maybe feel like they could take control of situations & issues of equality by force.. but they to have a moral compass & don’t use their advantages..🙄🙄🤔😎

[@Sheets-qi6pu]

Basic economics, every child in private education is saving the state 7.5k per child. Hence every child forced to leave will cost the state 7.5k let alone increase in class sizes and parents form private beong forced to move into good catchment areas driving up cost of housing for others... Such a ridiculous policy, deaigned to fail fom the outset!!

[@petermizon4344]

and this is what Tories have brought us too

[@Sheets-qi6pu]

What mohht shock you is that parents who send their kids to private school already pay extortionate levels of tax on their incomes, why should hard workign middle class parents be forced to pay this extra just because the government has been underfunding state!!

[@Dani20240]

Vote green, SNP and Lib Dem. Do NOT vote reform, ukip labour.

[@user-zw3bg9vr5g]

So if you sacrifice and work hard to send your children to Private Schools you should not be punished for doing your best for your children.A good education is the key to a good future. What Labour should be doing is demanding better education for children in State Schools and they should educate parents who are failing their children on how to be a good parent to their children. To many out there are expecting teachers to also parent their children. I am also angry about this: I have noticed that if like my husband and I you save for what you want have an emergency fund clear the mortgage and invest. Then instead of getting a pat on the back for being responsible Governments and the people want to take it away from us. Yet those who smoke drink do drugs wrack up massive debts and frankly don’t give a toss they get everything that’s going.Grrrrrrrr

[@rebeccajones9804]

Talking nonsense

[@tenniskinsella7768]

Why will it be short term. Of dont talk rubbish Its just policies of envy

[@tenniskinsella7768]

Just plain envy