SAY NO to Labour's education tax

Since becoming the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Wimbledon and the Maldens, I have been speaking to an increasing number of local residents who are concerned about Labour party proposals for 20% VAT to be charged on private school fees. 

This Labour policy is a tax on parents, a tax on aspiration and a tax on choice. I believe it will have a detrimental effect on local families, irrespective of whether their children are educated in the state sector or the private sector.

In Wimbledon & the Maldens we are fortunate to have state schools of a typically high quality, and I am proud that education reforms under a Conservative government have made a very significant contribution to raising standards in recent years. 

In Wimbledon, 20% of children are educated privately.  Will an exodus from these schools increase the pressure on state provision? I am convinced that it will. I am additionally concerned that local private schools will withdraw  the bursaries available to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

There is also a particular worry about provision for children with special needs. Where these children are educated privately, the overwhelming majority will see VAT applied to their fees. The parents of these vulnerable children are extremely concerned, and I worry that the availability of appropriate state provision will tighten even further. 

Emily Thornberry recently said "If we have to, in the short term, have larger classes, we have larger classes".

As a parent myself I profoundly disagree with this attitude.

Please do join me and sign my petition against Labour's proposed tax on education!

Best wishes,

Danielle Dunfield-Prayero