Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner calls private schools a ‘waste of money’ and says students can do ‘just as well’ at their local comprehensive
- Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said private school are a ‘waste of money’
- The Labour deputy was commenting on remarks made by Carol Voderman
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner branded private schools a ‘waste of money’ as she stepped up the party’s war on independent education.
Ms Rayner, who left school at 16 with no qualifications, said students can do ‘just as well’ at their local comprehensive as they can at a fee-paying institution.
She was commenting on controversial remarks from activist and former TV presenter Carol Vorderman, who was branded ‘condescending’ after criticising a privately-educated minister for not going to university.
Labour has proposed levying VAT on private schools to raise £1.6billion for its spending commitments – although some experts have warned the amount this policy will raise is likely to be far less.
Ms Rayner told Sky News: ‘Carol is right to argue that if you’ve been privately educated and not been able to get a degree, why waste your money on private education?
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner (pictured) called private schools a ‘waste of money’
‘The state sector is a fantastic sector – they did a great job with me. It wasn’t my teachers’ fault that I left without any qualifications – but look how resilient I am, they taught me some great life skills.
‘Don’t waste your money on private schooling, you can do just as well in our state sector.’
Ms Vorderman had taken aim at Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer after she said: ‘What are arrogant Johnny Mercer and his wife going to do for a joint income of £160,000+ plus enormous expenses?
‘Not a degree in sight in spite of expensive private education! So who’d employ them?’
Angela Rayner’s comments came after Carol Vorderman (pictured) took aim at Tory MP Johnny Mercer
Carol Vorderman took aim at Tory MP Johnny Mercer (left) and his wife Felecity (right) for being privately educated
Tory MP Siobhan Bailie told the Commons this week: ‘Snobbery about further education and no degree sadly continues to this day. You just have to look at Carol Vorderman’s attack.
‘Dismissing a minister who works tirelessly for the armed forces and veterans for not having gone to university is bad enough, but deliberately being condescending about the lives of millions of people who did not go to university is absolutely unforgivable.
‘I used to admire Carol Vorderman an awful lot before she decided to eat so much political hate for breakfast to get social media hits. Now, sadly, I just feel sorry for her.’
Mr Mercer was educated at independent Eastbourne College, but joined the Army instead of going to university after finishing school.
When asked about Ms Vorderman’s social media post, Ms Rayner acknowledged that ‘we all need to be a bit kinder on Twitter’.
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