Labour shadow cabinet member Liz Kendall has said that pupils being moved from private schools to state schools was more to do with high fees rather than the prospect of the party entering government.
She was commenting on predictions that ending tax breaks for private schools could see 40,000 pupils move to the state sector.
The Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary told GB News: “I want to see all children have the best start in life…children in all schools deserve to have the teachers that they need and the curriculum subjects they need to get the best possible education
“We’re saying we will end the tax breaks that private schools have to put the money into our state schools to recruit those 6,500 new teachers in key subjects to give children a better start.
“If we look at what's happened over recent years, schools have put their fees up for many different reasons. We haven't seen that sort of exodus that you’ve been talking about.
“We've had other people make predictions that actually this money can be raised and it wouldn't necessarily have that impact.
“But our priority has got to be the children right across the country, including my constituency, who lead those teachers who need those teachers, who need those changes.
“I do know of course, all parents, wherever their children go to school, are concerned about their children's future. I don't believe that those are the figures that we'll see.”
She added: “We don't believe that scale of figures is what's going to happen…we have to take decisions in tough financial circumstances about how we're going to get the funding that we need.
“There are many different views about what will happen, in the impact it will have. I believe it is a strong policy that will increase standards right across the country.
“But there are also many parents across the country, including in my own constituency, where the schools are crumbling, where they cannot recruit. They deserve a better chance.
“I came into politics to make sure that your chance of fulfilling your potential and living your hopes and dreams doesn't depend on where you're born, what your parents did, what their income is, your gender or the colour of your skin.
“Every child deserves a good start in life and that's why we're saying we want to have those breakfast clubs in every primary school. We want to recruit the extra teachers into our state schools.”
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