‘Society is unequal but this is regressive’: parents on private school fee VAT plans

Jonathan, a father and top earner from Surrey, is among many thousands of UK parents for whom a Labour win at the general election would probably mean an immediate financial disadvantage – but he does not mind.

“My daughter goes to private school, and I’m OK with VAT being added to school fees,” he said. “Is it fair? No. Is it morally right? Yes.”

Jonathan was among hundreds of parents who shared with the Guardian how Labour’s plan to impose the standard rate of 20% VAT on private school fees might affect them and their children, and whether the issue could change their vote.

Labour hopes to raise about £1.5bn a year to increase funding for state education through tax changes such as adding VAT to private school fees. Critics have warned that the policy pledge could alienate swathes of middle-class voters, and that it could be difficult for the state school sector’s overcrowded classroms to accommodate children whose parents will no longer be able to afford independent schools.

Thanks to a household income of over £250,000 a year, Jonathan is not afraid of potentially higher school fees in the autumn, but he does worry that, once more, it’ll be middle earners who will be hit hard by the possible rule change, rather than society’s wealthiest.

“I am all in favour of a progressive tax system, but I think the issue is that those in the middle are hit [by this], whereas those who are truly affluent are not impacted further.”

34-year-old Nelly*, an NHS worker and mother from Bristol, is among those in the middle who see the prospect of having to pay thousands more for school fees under Labour as an assault and a catastrophe.

“I have a child who attends an independent school,” she said. “They struggle emotionally and I felt the best thing for them would be smaller class sizes. I’m a single parent with one income and receive no child support. I work full time and I live with my mum and dad so that I can afford to pay for my child’s education. My salary is stretched to the max every month.

“I put aside my desires of owning my own home, independence, a new car and holidays so that my child would have a good start in life. Now I’m being penalised. I’m absolutely devastated. This will cause even more of a rift in society. I can honestly say that I’ve never felt so worried.”

Although Labour has dismissed as scaremongering warnings that the policy will trigger an “exodus” of pupils to already overstretched state schools, many of the parents who responded to an online callout said it would make school fees unaffordable and expressed panic about having to scramble for places in local state schools that are already at capacity.

“I feel heartbroken that this may come into force if Labour win the election,” said one 48-year-old mother from Kent who wanted to stay anonymous.

“We have chosen to invest in our children’s education above anything else. Is that so wrong? We drive old cars, don’t go on holiday and don’t have savings. If VAT is added to our school fees, we will be forced to remove our children from their school. State schools in our area are oversubscribed. I will be voting Conservative.”

Joe, 47, a clinical psychologist and father of two, said it had felt necessary to pull his son out of his state primary school after five years, and to stump up the £15,000 fees for a private one. “My two children both have autism and ADHD, but the state sector denied their needs,” he said.

“My son was really struggling in classes of 32 to 35, losing confidence. There are 12 in his class now; he’s much better, has improved attention. The school isn’t selective, but children have more breaks, more physical activity.”

Joe, whose younger daughter also attends the same school, said there was a real possibility that the children would have to leave their school if Labour’s plan came to fruition. “This is a short-sighted, discriminatory policy that feels like window-dressing to distract from Labour being much like the Tories now.

“It does not take into account the nuances of why many people choose private education. I’ll probably vote Green.”

“To us, this is a tax on SEN,” said James, a 51-year-old IT manager from Hampshire, whose son is highly dyslexic but did not qualify for additional help from the state.

As with many of the families who got in touch to highlight how the policy would negatively affect children with special needs, it was only the private school sector that could offer James’s son the support he needed to thrive in education.

James was also among scores of respondents who said the proposal would make it impossible for them to vote Labour, despite having been lifelong Labour supporters.

“I have never voted for the Tories, but because of this I can’t vote for Labour, even though overall they will be much better for the country,” he said.

“I have always voted Labour and I simply cannot any more [because of this],” said 39-year-old T O’Doherty, a small-business owner from Kent, who added that scrimping and saving made it just about possible to send his daughter to a small independent school.

“I have contacted local state schools this week for spaces and all are saying waiting lists are the only option, and that they are growing. We will have an eight-year-old without a school place in September. What are we meant to do? We know many from our school who are in the same situation.

“I cannot sleep. I haven’t told my daughter yet, but we face, very realistically, having to home-school from September, and I do not know how I could do this while working at the same time.”

Many respondents branded the policy a divisive attempt to score political points.

Michael, a graphic designer in his mid-40s from London whose children attend an independent school, said the proposal felt like a “populist policy” thought up by “people who think they’re sticking it to the Etonians, when in truth it just hurts hardworking people who make sacrifices each month to stretch every penny”.

The proposal, he argued, had not been properly thought through. “If this rule comes in, we and many other parents simply won’t be able to afford it any more and will be looking for places in the state system.

“If we all leave, our current school won’t be able to stay open, meaning even those who can afford the VAT rise may have to move to state schools. This will cost the government a lot more than the VAT [receipts] they hope to gain. How will they fund all those new state school spaces?

“I believe the Tories must go, and voting Labour would be a no-brainer. But now I don’t know how to vote.”

A parent from Edinburgh, who wanted to stay anonymous, said he was confused by the proposal and could see only downsides to the decision because of increased financial pressure on working families and more pressure on already deeply oversubscribed local state schools.

“We are all just trying to do the best with what we have,” he said. “I would hope Labour wouldn’t want to stand in our way. Are they planning on slapping an extra gains tax on people who sell their homes for inflated profits in desirable [state school] catchment areas?”

Other parents warned that those who would be pushed out of independent schools because of rising fees would probably descend on good state schools, push up property prices in their catchment areas and thereby effectively create elite state schools accessible primarily to the middle classes.

“Parents will just be throwing the money they previously spent on fees at housing and private tutoring,” one mother from north London said.

Jonathan, 42, a chartered surveyor from Ledbury, was among a number of parents who said they would do anything to find the money to keep their children in their private school.

“There seems to be a misconception that every private school is elite or a centre of excellence,” he said. “In reality, our girls’ current school is fair to middling, and not a patch on the state school our eldest attended when we lived in the south-east. It’s just a nice community school and certainly not producing many Oxbridge candidates.

“However, I’d rather sell our house than take our girls out of their school. The state schools here have poor Ofsted ratings and I want them to be safe and happy. The fee increase means we’ll have to consider remortgaging. I’m really gutted.”

Jonathan disagreed with the notion that Labour’s VAT plan for private schools was merely a minor political issue in this year’s election.

“This is a bellwether issue which I think Labour have got wrong. I’m in a demographic – middle earners – where a lot of people are swing voters, and this has completely lit up our friendship group WhatsApp chat,” he said. “The vast majority of us think it’s completely unfair.

“I’ve always voted Labour, my wife and I went to state schools. I’m very leftwing and think society is very unequal, but this is a shallow, regressive policy that will absolutely affect my vote.

“I cannot see myself voting Labour now. I’m so annoyed about the ideology behind this policy that I’d rather they’d up my income tax even more.”