Opposition Day: VAT on independent schools

Parliament voted on 8 October 2024 on an Opposition Day motion brought by the Conservatives to scrutinise the government's plan to remove the VAT exemption on independent school fees. The motion was defeated by 363 votes to 190. Opposition Day motions are procedural devices that allow parties without government power to force a debate and vote on a policy of their choosing; they do not change the law but carry political weight as a statement of parliamentary opinion. The vote matters because it reflects the first significant Commons test of Labour's policy to charge VAT at 20 per cent on private school fees. The government intends to use the revenue raised to fund state education, including hiring additional teachers. Opponents argue the change will push pupils out of independent schools and into an already stretched state sector, increasing costs for local authorities and disrupting the education of children with special needs whose families rely on private provision. Labour and its Co-operative Party allies voted unanimously against the motion, a total of 350 no votes, with 53 Labour-affiliated MPs absent. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats both voted for the motion, contributing 107 and 64 ayes respectively, despite significant philosophical differences between the two parties on public spending. Reform UK's seven MPs and the Democratic Unionist Party's four also voted aye. No Conservative or Liberal Democrat MP voted no. The result was never in doubt given Labour's Commons majority, but the Liberal Democrats' decision to back a Conservative motion illustrated the cross-party unease about the specific policy's implementation, even among parties that broadly support higher state school funding.