Keir has mentioned on every possible occasion that his dad was a toolmaker, so let me do my bit: I went to a 1970s comprehensive. My feelings about private schools echo my own and those of many I speak to on private healthcare, that I wish neither was necessary. I do think it’s almost certain that a not insignificant number of independents will close if VAT goes onto school fees, as a 20% rise on top of the usual inflation, is a lot for those at the ‘bottom end’, many of whose intake is not the wealthy, rather parents who struggle but don’t have any decent local state school options. If they move to those struggling comps, get involved and help to improve them, and if the VAT proceeds really are spent on those schools, it could all get better. But not for the current cohorts or generations of kids, I fear.
“Jeremy Vine latest to face HMRC in IR35 battle”
Yes, you heard it here first, there was something good in Liz Truss’s mini-budget: she abolished, or tried to abolish IR35. The ‘IR’ stands for Inland Revenue, so you can see it’s a regulation, or attempt at a regulation, which goes back to pre-HMRC days (that’s when it was merged with Customs & Excise, kids etc.).
