James O'Brien dismantles the 'indefensible' tax break on private school fees
James O'Brien blasts the "entrenched" private school system, questioning how the "golden ticket" that can propel a child isn't "subject to VAT when an iPhone is".
Labour Leader Keir Starmer has pledged to strip private schools of charitable status if he becomes Prime Minister - a move that would mean private school fees would be subject to VAT. The plan has come under fire by critics who say that only the super-rich would be able to remain in private school.
James O’Brien reacted to the plan, slamming the idea that “we should be giving thousands of pounds a year in tax relief” to parents privately educating their children when “some parents are making enormous sacrifices to feed their children”.
He continued: “My parents did make sacrifices but they sacrificed things like foreign holidays and fancy cars or a bigger house or new carpets. They didn't sacrifice dinner in order that me and my sister could eat.”
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After revealing that 5.8% of children in the UK are private educated, many of whom will be foreign students, James asked: “So who exactly are we giving this tax break to?
“An absolutely tiny proportion of parents who privately educate their children. I think it’s indefensible.”
James then branded private school education an “entrenched system designed to create people who could run the empire and it has sustained for reasons of snobbery, privilege and access”.
He disclosed his “dad’s logic”, likening private school to a “golden ticket” that “allows you to reach places that you may not have reached without it”.
“I do believe that the education I received, the contacts I made, the language I learned to speak - I do believe it played quite a big role in my career”, he added.
Referring to himself and his schoolmates, James said: “I’m pretty confident that what we got gave us wings. It really did.
“And so how can that not be subject to VAT when an iPhone is?”