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I was simply responding to your original statements which made it sound like the change in VAT was going to enforce a government monopoly on education - which is obviously false.> It increases the cost of private education by 20% and contrary to what Labour says this might just make it too expensive for some.Can you show me where Labour say that no-one will be priced out of private education with this change? I doubt they would be naive enough to say that but happy to be proven wrong.The price increase should be less than 20% as the schools, now obliged to charge VAT, will be able to offset a large chunk of the VAT they've paid out themselves.> So these parents will send their children to the state schools they are also paying for, making such establishments more crowded and with the staff having to do more.If a class is below legal capacity (in both sheer numbers and based on classroom size) then surely it has space for more pupils. This could happen regardless of where the new pupils come from, or is it only a problem for you if the new pupils topping up the numbers have come from the independent sector? If an individual class goes from 29 to 30 students it doesn't need a whole extra teacher to cope with this increase. I guess a large proportion of the extra teachers will likely be TAs or SEN support staff which can be split across multiple classes (or working part-time at multiple schools).> All because of the class envy of people who think like you, and not because you can prove it will in any way improve the education provided for those those using state education.You can spin it that way but it's not the reasoning behind the change. Fundamentally it's an implementation of a progressive tax raising more money from those more well off (e.g. those that can afford to pay for private education) in order to spend it on improving the education for those less well off (children in state education). But it's understandable how those on the other side of the debate would want to spin it as politics of envy.

John Kettlekey ● 360d

'(Can't wait for the usual mob to claim that this is another flop-flap from Starmer ' I wouldn't want to disappoint you Mr Kettlekey so here I am!Captain Flip-Flop never disappoints but at least he's consistent with his inconsistencies! 👍'The next five years politically should be great fun !'To be honest in a perverse masochistic way I am quite looking forward to it Mr Hawkes! Fantasy time!!I am really looking forward to Smarmy sitting down with a pot of tea and a nice packet of biccies to have peace talks with terrorist groups such as Hamas, Al-Qaeda, Isis, the Taliban etc.Charming Ms Rayner could hire a huge venue to speak to Muslim groups about respecting women; in particular their right to work and enjoy an independent life outside the home if that is what they wish to do. Hopefully this time Ange will insist that men will only be admitted if they are accompanied by the female members of the family. In May she didn't seem to care that she was speaking to a room full of men when she was schmoozing for the Muslim vote; but once elected she won't have to pander to their misogyny. However I would really enjoy watching her flounder in an empty room ...Finally the Labour Max Headroom lookalikey could finally kiss and make up with Dianne Abbott and welcome her right into the heart of Government. I suggest he should recognise her unique grasp of Maths, throw caution to the winds, and appoint her as the first black female Chancellor. Diversity box well and truly ticked!✔️ Oh gawd I think I'm hallucinating now so time to lie down in a darkened room.😳

Sue Hammond ● 361d

In order to avoid the charge of engaging in one sided criticism of Keir  Starmer and Labour, perhaps it would be better to ask questions. Maybe someone can answer them,On education, Labour plans to employ 6000 additional teachers. Since there are 24 000 schools in England, that is one teacher for every four schools. Is this going to provide the ‘brilliant’ education for our children promised by Bridget Phillipson? In order to pay for these teachers, Labour intends to impose VAT at 20% on independent schools. Estimates of the number of children who are likely to be withdrawn from their private schools by parents who cannot afford additional fees vary from 20 000 to 40 000 and even more. How are these children going to be absorbed into the state system which in many areas is severely overstretched? Many of these children were sent to private schools because they have special educational needs which could not be met in the state system. What is going to happen to them?On immigration, Labour says it will abandon the Rwanda scheme, employ additional police to ‘smash the smuggling gangs’ and patrol the border and deal with the backlog of asylum applicants who now number around 100 000. What deterrent will there be to illegal migration under a Labour government? What can British police do to arrest the smugglers in countries where they have no jurisdiction and where the local police forces have failed to deal with the problem? What will Labour do with individuals whose claim for asylum fails if they refuse to return to their countries of origin and France won’t take them back?On  the issue of transgender individuals, how will Labour guarantee safe spaces for women if it opposes the Conservatives’ policy of amending the Equality legislation so as to define gender biologically?On the environment, how does Labour intend to decarbonise the grid by 2030, a task thought by many to be impossible?

Steven Rose ● 362d