Labour will pledge to abolish private schools if it wins the next election, after the party’s annual conference voted for a proposal to “integrate” them into the state sector.
In a major policy shift, a motion approved by delegates at the gathering in Brighton said a government led by Jeremy Corbyn would “challenge the elite privilege of private schools” and claimed that “the ongoing existence of private schools is incompatible with Labour’s pledge to promote social justice”.
It said the party would include in its next manifesto “a commitment to integrate all private schools into the state sector”.
And private schools’ property, land and other assets will be seized and “redistributed democratically and fairly across the country’s educational institutions”.
However, the move is likely to force Labour to raise funds elsewhere to cover the costs of the influx of private school pupils into the state sector.
One shadow cabinet minister told The Independent that the policy would require raising additional investment.
In a clear hint that taxes may have to rise, the shadow minister said the measure would only be beneficial if the government could rake in some of the money better-off people would have spent on educating their children.
“Often the reason people turn to independent schools is because they want children to have more support,” the shadow minister added. “If the state system did not get some of those resources, then getting rid of those schools would not help. We want to lift the overall standard, not bring everyone down to the same level.”
