Bridget Phillipson shuts down 'scaremongering' by private school lobby over Labour VAT raid: 'My priority is state schools!'

"We as a Government have made the decision to prioritise investing in state schools. That's where the majority of our children go to school," Phillipson said.

She emphasised that most Britons would be sending their children to state schools and wanted to see increased investment in these institutions.

The Education Secretary dismissed concerns raised by critics of the policy: "We as a Government have made the decision to prioritise investing in state schools. That's where the majority of our children go to school.

"I’m afraid I simply don't accept the scaremongering that we've seen from the private schools lobby. They've made their case that they're entitled to make it, but we did set out this policy position a very, very long time ago. We've been clear about why we're doing it, and that's to invest more money in our state schools."

The minister outlined specific measures the Government is implementing, including expanding access to free school meals.

"Measures like the one I'm setting out today around expanding access to free school meals, that's the difference that a Labour Government is bringing," she stated.

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Phillipson contrasted Labour's approach to education with that of other parties: "It's not something you'd be seeing from Conservative or Reform politicians, but we have made some choices, and one of the choices that we're making is to support families, to support schools."

She addressed concerns about capacity in state schools, noting that demographic changes are already affecting school rolls.

"I don't accept the wider premise of all of this, but there is also a change in terms of the birth rate. So we're going to have fewer children and young people coming through state schools anyway, because of the fall in the birth rate," she explained.

"I’m confident that schools are able to manage this process, but I don't simply accept some of the framing around this. And it is a question, however, of priorities."

Phillipson framed the VAT policy as a fundamental choice about educational priorities: "Do we prioritise tax breaks for private schools, or do we prioritise investing in state education? And I choose the latter."

The Education Secretary acknowledged that falling birth rates are affecting school capacity.

"We've got falling enrols in our schools, so we've got fewer children moving from primary into secondary. That's been happening for some time," she said.

She noted that the policy had been clearly communicated well in advance: "We did set out this policy position a very, very long time ago. We've been clear about why we're doing it, and that's to invest more money in our state schools."