Hi everyone,

Thank you for supporting this petition and standing up for children in private schools and the parents who sacrifice so much to make this possible.  In just over a week, more than 37,000 people have signed the petition.

Many of us have shared powerful stories and concerns about the stress and disruption Labour's planned tax will cause working families.  Here are just a few:

Melissa Taylor

I am a single parent, making enormous sacrifices to put my daughter through private school, having been failed by the mainstream school system that did not make allowances for her autism diagnosis and consistently did not challenge her academically.  The class sizes were ridiculous and staff were stretched to the extreme.  Our school now is not elitist and the vast majority from a working background.  They work tirelessly for charitable causes and are well respected in the community.

Clare Stokes:

An ill-conceived plan - designed only to win votes with those that believe it doesn't affect them.  Of course it does.  When all our children land in state schools because we can no longer afford private.  Or when private schools fold and are no longer able to offer the support and charitable offering that they do in our communities - and teachers are unable to find jobs because state schools will not have better funding and cannot take on the teachers coming out of the private sector.  All in all, a ridiculous plan that only hurts hard working middle income families trying to do the best for their kids.  And to think there was almost a point there when I thought I could get behind a Labour government.

Sarah Barnett:

We removed our child from state school education due to bullying and their emotionally driven school based refusal.  We could not get a transfer within the state school system so turned to the private sector.  We are working class people who work hard and used our savings to get our child into a good private school, and continue to make other financial sacrifices to keep them there.  We do not begrudge this in any way, it is our choice, but an additional 20% on top of school fees would be financially crippling for our family.  I feel like assumptions are being made about the types of individuals who make the choice to send their children to private schools and their take home salaries.

Liz Beck

I have 2 children with complex needs.  We have worked long hours and made tough choices all through their school years to ensure they have an education that can support them.  We have never cost the state a penny for educating our children - and, as a result, we've created space for others.  It's appalling to be penalised for taking some strain out of the system and the introduction of VAT will not create more money, it will simply force more children into an already broken education system.  Not to mention the damage it will do to these kids.

Sharing  our stories shows voters and politicians alike that private schools aren't simply playgrounds of the rich.  Working families make life-changing sacrifices to give their children a chance in life and support that state schools could not provide.   Labour's tax will punish those families for making that choice.  It feels like a "sin tax", like ULEZ for those with older cars, but with private schools being the dens of iniquity from which people need salvation.  These working families aren't sinners.  

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already said that she doesn't see how we can tax our way to prosperity, ruling out other taxes such as restoring the 45p rate.  She knows this won't solve the problems so many state schools face.  Sir Keir Starmer promised not to increase the burden on working families, but this policy does just that. 

We will succeed when Labour, and all MPs, see and hear the harms their sin tax will cause so many people.  We will succeed when our friends, neighbours and communities understand why families send their children to private schools, and see the effects this policy will have when cash-strapped state schools are even further overwhelmed.

So what next?  Please, continue sharing your story, and share this petition far and wide.  Every day, find new people to tell.  Write op-eds for your local newspapers, post in community Facebook groups and talk to friends and neighbours.  

Also, contact your MP, regardless of party, and those hoping to become MPs.  Contact your local Labour Party.    Ring them.  Speak to them.  Ensure they hear your stories and concerns.  Let them know this issue matters.  You can find your MP here:
https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

The future is up to us.  If we can share our stories and persuade more people to sign this petition, and this petition, we will win hearts and minds.  This proposal will be dropped.  We will keep kids in their schools and keep kids in other schools from paying the price.

Thank you again for all of your support!

Tony Perry