Numbers matter in a democracy. The larger the cohort of voters, the more wary the politicians are of alienating them. It used to make the Labour Party’s electoral pitch pretty straightforward for several decades – they were for the poor, the working class – the majority – while the Conservatives were for the rich. Labour would also hope to get some votes from rich people who felt guilty about getting more than their ‘fair share’. The counter, of course, was that capitalism was better than socialism at making the poor become richer. Margaret Thatcher made the term ‘working class’ less meaningful by boosting ownership of homes and shares while presiding over an increase in the number of self-employed.
But this Government’s approach to schools shows the ‘them and us’ mentality still runs strongly in the Labour Party’s consciousness – at least in the consciousness of Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary. Only 7% of children attend independent schools. Imposing VAT on school fees is a means of going to war with this privileged minority. A class divide is highlighted – with Labour ‘on the side’ of the 93%.
Academies and free schools are also under attack. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill erodes their independence. They will be forced to follow a new ‘woke’ national curriculum. The flexibility to pay good teachers more will be ended. The opening of new free schools will be halted – new schools will be under local authority control instead.
Most telling is that local authorities will be able to thwart oversubscribed schools from seeking to expand. Parents hoping to get their children into good schools will be told extra places to allow this are ‘unnecessary’ – if there are surplus places at bad schools. Furthermore, those failing schools will cease being put under new management as ‘sponsored academies’ but be allowed to carry on failing.
No doubt Phillipson would long to see a drab egalitarian conformity where all schools are under full Council control – with ‘progressive’ ideology being followed throughout such municipal empires. Her refusal to congratulate the Michaela Community School on its remarkable success was devastatingly revealing.
What is holding Phillipson back from a complete cultural revolution? It is the numbers. Some 80% of secondary schools and 40% of primary schools are academies. They have generally seen standards improve and parents do not want that to be disrupted.
Even for the independent schools with 7% of pupils, Phillipson can probably see that banning them would be pushing her luck.
Imagine if the Conservatives had got round to opening a couple of hundred grammar schools? Perhaps by allowing free schools to decide their own admissions policy rather than insisting on it being non-selective. There would have been great fury from the Labour Party, but once the schools were up and running it would be brave to scupper them.
Further, imagine that private companies, seeking a profit, had been allowed to start free schools. The average annual cost to the taxpayer for state education is £7,570 per pupil. If a firm found it viable to operate a school on that budget that parents chose to send their children to, then why should such an arrangement be prohibited? Instead, free schools were rationed, due to start up costs, delays and official veto.
Suppose that the Assisted Places Scheme had been revived. That was an arrangement brought in by Margaret Thatcher which allowed bright children from poorer homes the chance to attend independent schools – with the taxpayer funding some or all of the fees. By 1997, there were some 34,000 pupils benefiting – until a Labour government scrapped it. Would Tony Blair had done so had it been operating on a larger scale?
There has long been an objection to the unfairness that those who send their children to independent schools have to pay twice – through fees and through taxes for an entitlement they do not take up. One way of resolving this would be to provide tax relief on the spending on school fees. This need not just apply to parents. It could be uncles or aunts, godparents or grandparents. Anyone generous enough to be contributing to the cost of a child’s school fees.
Another would be through the voucher system. The figure of £7,570 mentioned earlier would be paid by the state, leaving the parents to top up the rest. (They might not have to do that in some cases. The Independent Grammar School: Durham charges £4,250 a year.)
Of course, a combination would be possible. The first £7,570 a year in fees would be covered by the voucher. Any payment on top would be subject to tax relief.
To ensure that the choice was affordable it would also be necessary to consider the supply side. Local authorities might seek to thwart budding educational entrepreneurs through the planning system. It would be important to ensure the ‘change of use’ rules on converting a building into a school were as smooth as possible. A lot of other red tape would also have to be abolished – especially for smaller schools.
How much demand would there be? A YouGov poll last year found that 41% would send their children to a private school if they could afford it.
Labour’s attack on independent schools really comes down to class envy. It is bound to be a powerful message, as envy is deep in human nature. The tenth commandment is such a difficult one to follow – even for those of us who can get through the week quite easily without any stealing, murder or adultery while remembering to take Sunday off and avoiding making any graven images.
Yet envy can have its positive side. It can be a spur to ambition. Rather than resentment, it can manifest itself in aspiration. A resolution to join them rather than beat them. Accessible private education is possible, we just need the right leadership.
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