With only around 6% of children going to a private school many people will say what difference would Labour's proposed 20% VAT make on the majority of us? It would make a big difference to freedom of choice, it could lead to a number of closures of private schools and it could mean the loss of a lot of charity work and bursaries for talented children. I did not go to private school but I am supportive of parents right to choose. Adding an extra 20% is likely to make private education even more elite as the cost will fall on parents who are making sacrifices to send their child to their chosen school and can no longer afford it.
State education is struggling with a teacher shortage and figures by the Labour party themselves show over 900,000 pupils are now in classrooms of more than 30 so an influx of private school pupils into state schools is not going to help with other pupils getting a decent education either. This is an ill-thought out policy based on narrow-minded ideology.
