Independent schools and Labour's plan to end tax exemptions

If Labour wins the next general election, it is fair to say that we don’t really know a great deal about what it would mean for education as yet. That’s not unusual for a party in opposition, and particularly one where an ideological battle has been raging.

One thing we do know, however, is that it intends to end tax exemptions for independent schools. Party leader Sir Keir Starmer indicated at last year’s Labour conference that the charitable status which applies to many independent schools would be removed, along with exemptions on VAT and business tax, raising £1.7 billion.