In a significant policy shift, the Labour Party has decided to retain the charitable status of private schools. Earlier this year, 2024, Labour's shadow education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, and shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, both advocated for ending the charitable status of private schools. They argued that private schools, benefiting from tax breaks, were not truly charitable institutions and that the funds saved could be redirected to bolster state schools. This change was projected to raise £1.7 billion, a substantial sum that could have significantly improved public education.

However, in a surprising U-turn, Labour now plans to impose VAT on private schools and end their business rates relief, while other tax breaks associated with charitable status will remain. A Labour spokesperson reiterated that their policy intends to remove the “unfair tax breaks” benefiting private schools, aiming to fund essential services such as teachers and mental health counseling in every secondary school.

This decision reflects a pragmatic approach to addressing funding disparities in education without fully committing to the bold reform initially proposed. While it seeks to increase public school funding, the retention of charitable status for private schools suggests a reluctance to confront deeply entrenched privileges in the educational sector. By backing away from fully stripping private schools of their tax-exempt status, Labour sends a message that it is unwilling to disrupt the status quo of educational privilege. The compromise to impose VAT and end business rates relief, while positive, falls short of the transformative change needed to level the educational playing field.

Education should be a great equalizer, not a domain where wealth dictates opportunity. Private schools, with their significant financial advantages, perpetuate social inequality. By maintaining their charitable status, Labour tacitly endorses this disparity.

SOURCES

1st Video: Labour pledges £28 billion to tackle climate change - Rachel Reeves full speech - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obm3FG7qfDc

2nd Video: Keir Starmer on LBC - https://x.com/LeftieStats/status/1743250876175622364

3. Labour U-turns plan to scrap charitable status of private school - https://news.sky.com/video/labour-u-turns-plan-to-scrap-charitable-status-of-private-schools-12971967

4. VAT raid on private schools will not cause pupil exodus, says Keir Starmer - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/01/05/vat-raid-private-schools-no-pupil-exodus-keir-starmer/