LABOUR tonight voted through radical plans to abolish private schools and force them to sell their playing fields in a Stalinist-style land grab.
Party activists voted to effectively declare war on independent schools by setting out plans to “integrate” them with the state.
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Private schools will lose their multi-billion pound tax breaks and be ordered to sell off their buildings under the radical plans.
And as part of their shake-up of education, Labour also vowed to abolish the schools inspector Ofsted.
But critics furiously accused Jeremy Corbyn of hypocrisy as the Labour leader went to a private prep school.
While a string of Labour frontbenchers have coughed up cash to send their kids to elite private schools.
Tory MP Ben Bradley blasted: “This is blind hypocrisy from Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party. It’s one rule for the Corbyn few and another rule for the many.
“Whether it’s Shami Chakrabarti sending her son to a private school, Emily Thornberry sending hers to selective schools, or Jeremy Corbyn putting his own political views ahead of his wife and
children, the Labour Party are in no position to lecture anyone on what is best for their family.”
Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott backed abolishing private schools – despite sending her own son to one.
She said: “As you well know, I sent my son to private school some years ago but if the party takes that position I would support it.”
It is estimated that abolishing Britain’s world famous private schools would cost a whopping £7billion a year.
This is because they save the Government around £3.5bn a year by excluding pupils from state education spending, and they pay around the same in taxes.
And privately some Labour figures admitted the plan voted through by conference yesterday could be illegal.
One insider told The Sun that “seizing charity asset without compensation” might break current law.
In another highly controversial move, the party has also vowed to abolish Ofsted because the inspections regime is too “stressful” for staff and teachers.
Mr Corbyn told the BBC: “Because it is a very assertive form of investigation into a school. They turn up every few years or sometimes more frequently than that and do an exercise on that
school and then make a decision about it.
“The levels of stress on the students and the teachers is absolutely enormous.”
Corbyn’s top team send their kids to private schools
- Shami Chakrabarti sent her son to £18,000 a year Dulwich College
- Director of Communications Seumas Milne sent both of his children to grammars
- Diane Abbott sent her son to the private City of London school
- Valerie Vaz sent her daughter to £18,500 per year Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith
- Emily Thornberry sent her two sons to selective schools
- Jeremy Corbyn ended up divorcing his wife of 12 years in a huge row over whether to send his son to a grammar
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Under the plan, councils would carry out most school inspections while a new body would be created to check up on schools if concerns had been raised.
Lashing the plan, Tory Minister Brandon Lewis blasted: “I can imagine that people would be shocked to see that Labour are prepared to play such games with children’s education.”
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