@vickygrayson_

Mother. “Middle class woman of a certain age”.

 United Kingdom
Joined August 2010
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  • Followers1.9K
7.4KMedia
“What @bphillipsonMP has done is displace 40,000 children
find places elsewhere either because their school has closed or they don’t have the money to pay VAT. The reason why those taxes were put in place was to fund 6.5k more teachers. We have 2k fewer teachers”. @KemiBadenoch
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“The inconvenient reality is that comprehensive schools really are incompatible with the pursuit of educational success for individual children.” @joenutt_author's case against comprehensive schools. thecritic.co.uk/the-case-aga


The case against comprehensive schools | Joe Nutt | The Critic Magazine

The desire for reform — genuine, dramatic change to almost every aspect of the State one can think of — has never been so palpable. I can’t be the only one who has found himself overhearing lively


thecritic.co.uk
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Victoria retweeted
Olly@oIIyjmOct 22
1. Tax private schools & SEND support, pushing more children with needs into the state sector 2. Allocate more children with complex SEND to mainstream state schools in the name of 'inclusion' Then... 3. Make state schools cut SEND-specific support staff to fund pay-rises
caroline wheeler
@cazjwheelerOct 22
Exclusive: Schools will be forced to cut special needs support staff in order to fund a share of the teacher’s pay rise, teachers have warned. The i Paper has spoken to multiple headteachers and school leaders who say that despite suggestions the pay rise is “fully funded” at a “national level”, many schools will still face a shortfall and will need to find cash afford the 3.5 per cent pay award. With finances already stretched, SEND staff will feel the brunt of cost-cutting which is likely to result, they argue. It comes as local authorities are being driven into a projected deficit of £10.4bn by 2028 over the size of the bill for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) as more children need support – 1.8 million children in England have special educational needs, a rise of 91,400 (5.2 per cent) since 2025. Story 👇w/@connie_dimsdale inews.co.uk/news/politics/sc


Schools face cutting SEND staff to fund teachers' pay rise

Headteachers say many schools will have to find spare cash from their own budgets, despite claims of extra money

inews.co.uk
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Tax private schools, leading to more children in state schools, then make state schools even worse. Amazing. We are run by clowns.
Politics UK
@PolitlcsUKOct 22
🚹 NEW: Teachers could be allowed to work a 4-day week under the Government's plan for greater flexibility [@thetimes]
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VAT on private schools was, in my view, driven by the politics of envy. We should not forget that the policy was justified on the grounds that it would raise revenue to help fund the recruitment of 6,500 additional teachers. Since its introduction, we have seen disruption to pupils’ education, families forced to find alternative schools mid-year, dedicated staff losing their jobs and long-established institutions closing their doors. The consequences are still unfolding, and the full impact has yet to be felt. The question remains, was it really worth it?
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A useful reminder that a Conservative government will remove Labour’s spiteful and punitive VAT on private education. Parents who pay their taxes in full should have the right to educate their children in a fee-paying school is if works for them and children deserve better than to be punished because Labour think they’re privileged and therefore fair game. Let’s end this mean-mindedness!
Rt Hon Nigel Evans
@nigelmpOct 19
It’s another example of Labour’s double taxation
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Labour’s own admission is damning: their tax on education will force 35,000 children out of independent schools into state sector which is already under pressure, Scrap the VAT on school fees. Stop treating children’s education as a political football.
Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst MP
@DrNShastriHurstOct 16
The Labour Government's tax on education is a policy failure that is disrupting children’s schooling. In its response to me, the Government expects 35,000 pupils to move into state schools because of VAT on fees - putting further pressure on families and school places.
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How is this ok? How has this been able to happen? What next? telegraph.co.uk/money/consum


Shakespeare’s Globe ‘discriminates’ against private schools with two-tier pricing

London theatre among number of venues charging more for trips, workshops and exhibitions for fee-paying pupils

telegraph.co.uk
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Thank you @_Harry_Brennan_ for your @Telegraph piece calling out price discrimination against independent school children. It's disappointing to hear that leading organisations like @The_Globe, @UKSpaceAcademy, @bankofengland, @NationalTheatre, @TheRSC, @KeatsHouse, @HornimanMuseum, @WMGallery and Chiswick House & Gardens charge more for independent school children (and @bankofengland actually preventing them from attending certain events). As @Anthony_J_Perry pointed out, "this two-tier approach does nothing to reduce inequality and fails to recognise the complex reality of families and education." At best, it sparks division which surely cannot be the mission of any of these organisations. There are better ways to support those in most need, such as concessionary rates for children on free school meals or living in postcodes of higher deprivation. The @EducationNotTax team would like to meet with you to discuss this further, so we can help you address this problem. Thank you! telegraph.co.uk/money/consum


Shakespeare’s Globe ‘discriminates’ against private schools with two-tier pricing

London theatre among number of venues charging more for trips, workshops and exhibitions for fee-paying pupils

telegraph.co.uk
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The sheer level of venomous hatred you have to have for your own middle class, to insist every EU rule must be adopted wholesale only then to make a special exception for rewriting VAT so you can bankrupt independent schools
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It’s a minor point but some of Labour’s VAT changes would have to be reversed if we rejoined the EU. They’d have to take VAT off private school fees & put it back on electricity bills.
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Victoria retweeted
Mark Wallace
@wallacemeOct 1
Government considering removing VAT from school fees.
BBC News (World)
@BBCWorldSep 30
Move to rejoin EU among options for UK, says Burnham bbc.in/4jBNqGu

Brexit referendum 'possible' in Labour election manifesto, says Andy Burnham

The PM says a referendum wouldn't be the right thing now but the UK needs to consider its options for the future.

bbc.com
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I look forward to a rebate on the VAT on my children's school fees.
Sadiq Khan
@SadiqKhanSep 29
Leaving the European Union has done immense damage to living standards, to businesses and to economic growth in London and across the country. It’s great to see the Prime Minister calling out this historic mistake. Looking forward to working with the PM to open a new chapter in EU relations.
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Replying to @LBC @TomSwarbrick1
Two points @TomSwarbrick1 1. VAT has absolutely nothing to do with “luxury”. VAT is not a luxury tax. Caviar? Zero-rated. A £1,400 Dior child’s dress? Zero-rated. 2. Education was previously exempt from VAT because it is education — a merit good that sensible governments seek to encourage. It wasn't exempt because it wasn't considered a luxury, and it hasn't suddenly become one. #EducationNotTax
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Lord Shinkwin focused on SEND in the Lords debate into VAT on independent school fees. He said: "Nowhere is [the counterintuitive nature of the policy] more apparent than the case of pupils with SEND. They and their hard-pressed families deserve not just an answer but a rethink."
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This is how Baroness Cash's speech in the House of Lords debate on VAT and independent school fees ended: "I support the call for a review into this policy. To add one last thing, I can reassure my noble friend, Lord Black that we will, and have pledged to, repeal this policy."
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Some of us said this from the start! It was never going to raise money and the idea they could calculate any income, never mind spend it effectively on schools, was a deliberate lie. Phillipson & Reeves must face misfeasance charges in court.
Independent Schools Council@ISC_schoolsSep 21
Replying to @ISC_schools
He also mentioned an analysis by BiGGAR Economics that was commissioned by @SCISschools, the Scottish Council of Independent Schools. Not only did it suggest a net loss of ÂŁ16m to the public finances this year, it estimates that figure could grow to ÂŁ181m over time.
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Lord Lexden led a debate in the House of Lords last week on the impact of VAT on independent schools. He argued that the policy was an "imposition" and that "a review is essential", before ending by saying "surely every child and every school matters".
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This is Lord Fuller speaking in the House of Lords on the debate about VAT on independent school fees. He talks of the unseen damage done to the staff, to the towns where these schools support the local economy and to the national economy itself. youtu.be/hkkxIMjCKWc?si=x1Fj

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The same is true of the education tax. It needs to be scrapped and those responsible should face a court, to explain why they deliberately used their public office, to target and knowingly harm, thousands of specific families.
Cut My Tax
@CutMyTaxUKSep 19
Labour's former farm minister, Daniel Zeichner, has now admitted that the family farm tax was a bad idea. But that's only because he accepts that it made Labour extremely unpopular in the countryside. Zeichner said of the decision to introduce the tax: “I think the problem is that there probably weren’t people close enough to the discussion who knew enough about rural areas and farming to know what the response would be." “I wasn’t completely opposed from a policy perspective, but I knew that the emotional effect it would have would be huge, and that’s exactly what happened". “I think, in hindsight, if people had known that that was going to be the consequence, they probably wouldn’t have done it. Labour should be careful about picking fights with the countryside.” Zeichner and Labour still don't seem to accept the massive economic damage that will be caused to both family farms and firms by this vindictive tax, which forces those businesses not to invest. They're only worried about the political damage to Labour itself.
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Lord Alton: "Taxing education is simply wrong in principle. It is a breach of human rights and in the EU, it would breach Article 132 of their VAT directive, which exempts education from tax. "Our starting point should be encouraging diversity and parental choice is a good."
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