Latest news with #JonathanHinder
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Labour MP accuses families impacted by Labour's tax raid on private schools of 'crying to the courts' after they lost High Court bid to stop VAT on school fees
A Labour MP has accused families impacted by the private school tax raid of 'crying to the courts' after they lost a bid to stop the VAT on fees. Families were dealt a devastating blow after they lost a High Court challenge to the taxes on fees. The judicial review claim, heard earlier this year, aimed to have the 20 per cent tax declared 'incompatible' with human rights law. However, in a decision handed down on Friday, judges rejected all claims, despite agreeing with some of the arguments. Jonathan Hinder, the MP for Pendle and Clitheroe, criticised the families, saying taking the case to High Court was 'crazy'. He said in a post on X: 'A tax commitment included in an election-winning manifesto, duly delivered. That's democracy. Campaign to reverse it if you like. Fine. 'But this habit of going crying to the courts all the time is silly. Obviously the right decision, but crazy that it got to the High Court.' The controversial tax, pledged in Labour's manifesto, came into force in January this year. The MP has accused families impacted by the private school tax raid of 'crying to the courts' after they lost a bid to stop the VAT on fees Three groups of families – most of whom are anonymous – joined private schools in bringing a legal challenge against the policy. Their lawyers argued the tax is a breach of children's right to an education under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The various families also said it was 'discriminatory' – either because their child has special educational needs (SEN), has a preference for a religious education, or because they need an all-girls environment. But Dame Victoria Sharp, Lord Justice Newey and Mr Justice Chamberlain concluded the VAT policy was 'proportionate' in its aim to raise extra revenue for state schools. They added Parliament ultimately had the right make the decision. A spokesman for the lobby group Education not Taxation told The Telegraph: 'The court's ruling that the taxation of independent schooling is discriminatory and will have a disproportionate, prejudicial effect on children with SEN clearly demonstrates that any 'crying to the courts' was entirely justified. 'While it is disappointing that the court ruled the action is not illegal, it nevertheless makes a powerful statement: the policy is discriminatory.' Julie Robinson, the chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), said that schools were 'right' to have escalated the challenge to the High Court. She said: 'Thousands of families have already been negatively affected by the policy, with more than 11,000 children leaving independent education since last year – far more than had been anticipated by the government.' At the opening of the court case in April, families of children with SEN from all over the country protested outside. They said they have been forced to choose the private sector due to the state provision for SEN being so poor – but cannot afford the extra cost of the VAT. Alicia Kearns, the shadow minister for home affairs, described Hinder's tweets as 'class warfare'. She said: 'Parents in my communities have been put through enormous stress and their children's education disrupted. 'They do not deserve the ridicule of Labour MPs indulging in class warfare and crowing about manifesto promises whilst glaringly silent on the extra money promised for state schools. 'I wouldn't be quite so glib if my ideological experiment had left our state schools worse off.' The ruling comes after a £43,000-a-year boarding school has been forced to make the 'heart-wrenching' decision to close after 125 years following Labour's tax raid on private education. Queen Margaret's School For Girls in York said they are 'unable to withstand mounting financial pressure'. The school also blamed 'increased national insurance and pension contributions, the removal of charitable-status business rates relief, and rising costs for the upkeep and operation of our estate'. The 125-year-old institution said that 'tireless efforts' in the past 18 months to 'respond to these challenges' included a possible merger or sale and the search for 'fresh investment'. However, the school said 'none of these routes resulted in a successful outcome' and coupled with declining entries, it has 'been left with no alternative' but to close. After 'strong student enquiry levels' in Autumn, the school said 'these declined sharply in early 2025 following the implementation of VAT' and is 'below the viable level required' to keep the school open.
Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Labour MP accuses families hit by private school tax raid of ‘crying to the courts'
A Labour MP has accused families hit by the private school tax raid of 'crying to the courts'. Jonathan Hinder, the MP for Pendle and Clitheroe, criticised families who were hit by Labour's 20 per cent VAT levy on private school fees after they lost their challenge at the High Court on Friday. He said taking the case to the High Court was 'crazy', before adding in the post to X: 'A tax commitment included in an election-winning manifesto, duly delivered. That's democracy. Campaign to reverse it if you like. Fine. 'But this habit of going crying to the courts all the time is silly. Obviously the right decision, but crazy that it got to the High Court.' Three separate challenges were heard together in a judicial review between April 1 and 3, using more than a dozen families as case studies. In a single written judgment issued on Friday, the three judges presiding over the case said they 'dismiss the claims'. Dame Victoria Sharp, Lord Justice Newey and Mr Justice Chamberlain said the VAT policy was 'proportionate' in its aim to raise extra revenue for state schools. A spokesman for the lobby group Education not Taxation told The Telegraph that 'crying to the courts' was 'entirely justified'. He said: 'The court's ruling that the taxation of independent schooling is discriminatory and will have a disproportionate, prejudicial effect on children with special educational needs (SEN) clearly demonstrates that any 'crying to the courts' was entirely justified. 'Without the action taken by the claimants, the government's prejudicial behaviour would have gone unchecked, obscured by the false narratives and political spin used to justify this attack on educational choice. 'While it is disappointing that the court ruled the action is not illegal, it nevertheless makes a powerful statement: the policy is discriminatory.' Julie Robinson, the chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), said that schools were 'right' to have escalated the challenge to the High Court. The ISC was part of the legal challenge and represents more than 1,400 private schools. 'This is an unprecedented tax on education and it is right that its compatibility with human rights law was tested,' she said. 'Thousands of families have already been negatively affected by the policy, with more than 11,000 children leaving independent education since last year – far more than had been anticipated by the government. 'As the court noted, there was interference with human rights and this policy is likely to have an outsized impact on families of faith and children with SEND but without an EHCP.' In the wake of the VAT hike, private schools across the country have been forced to close. Queen Margaret's School for Girls in York said it had been forced to make the 'deeply distressing' decision to close following Labour's VAT raid. The £43,000-a-year boarding school said it was 'unable to withstand mounting financial pressures' after the introduction of the tax in January led to student enquiries 'declining sharply'. According to the school's website, the enrolment numbers for the coming academic year were below the level needed to keep the school open. The 'heart-wrenching' decision was taken after failing to secure fresh investment. The school also blamed 'increased national insurance and pension contributions, the removal of charitable-status business rates relief, and rising costs for the upkeep and operation of our estate'. Queen Margaret's alumni include the socialite Manners sisters – Lady Violet, Lady Alice, and Lady Eliza – daughters of the 11th Duke and Duchess of Rutland. The independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 was due to celebrate its 125th anniversary next year. It will close at the end of their summer term on July 5. Alicia Kearns, the shadow minister for home affairs, described the tweets as 'class warfare'. She said: 'Parents in my communities have been put through enormous stress and their children's education disrupted. 'They do not deserve the ridicule of Labour MPs indulging in class warfare and crowing about manifesto promises whilst glaringly silent on the extra money promised for state schools. 'No sign of keeping that promise, quite the opposite as state schools struggle and Labour Ministers this week admit their funding is insufficient to cover staff pay rises next year, and the NEU calling it a 'crisis in funding'. 'I wouldn't be quite so glib if my ideological experiment had left our state schools worse off.'
Telegraph
23-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
A day out in northern England's happiest town
Whiskery men sit around a wood-burning stove with guitars and a banjo. They start to play and sing the classic folk song by Ewan MacColl, Dirty Old Town. 'By the old canal…' go the lyrics, which is appropriate, for here we are, right next to the old canal, the 127-mile long Leeds & Liverpool Canal to be precise, in Skipton, North Yorkshire. The Boat House Bar, with big windows looking onto a canal junction, is a favourite among gongoozlers, real ale fans and folk musicians alike. Every other Sunday locals gather to strum and croon. Before long, those men might be singing songs about railways too. The 12-mile Skipton to Colne line, closed in 1970, has been in the news. There are plans to reopen it, to boost transport links with East Lancashire, forming a new trans-Pennine route. Colne MP, Jonathan Hinder believes it will improve access to jobs and housing. If you are thinking of moving home, Skipton, famed for its building society, is an attractive place to live in more ways than one. This gateway to the Dales ranked as the sixth happiest place to live in the country in a recent poll by Rightmove. I can vouch that the locals are a friendly lot. With a population of some 15,000, Skipton is small enough that towpath etiquette – to greet passers-by – seems to have seeped into the town's cobbled lanes and alleyways. 'Ow do?' said an elderly man as he tipped his hat. 'Beautiful day!' replied a rosy-cheeked woman. In the compact canal quarter of shops and cafes, I ventured into The Beer Engine bar and, over a pint of Saltaire bitter, was soon in conversation with a Skipton resident. Chris loves the easy access to rivers for kayaking and hills for walking, he said. He suggested I could visit the villages of Appletreewick, Malham and Grassington, 'where 'All Creatures Great and Small' was filmed.' That unhurried, neighbourly good life of James Herriot's days still reigns in Skipton. I witnessed the rare sight of students putting empty sandwich cartons and crisp packets into their rucksacks rather than discarding them onto the towpath as they walked from school in Aireville Park. Next to the school, the leisure centre was busy with people over 60, such as myself, enjoying a swim, followed by a sociable steam and sauna, all for the bargain price of £3.55. On a walk from the canal junction, where a colourful little narrowboat, Sam, belonging to Pennine Cruisers, sets off on 30-minute pleasure trips in all weathers, I followed the towpath of the dead-end Springs branch, beneath the church tower and beside a converted mill, until it became a teetering boundary between a rushing tannin-coloured beck on one side and an ivy draped, disused waterway on the other, the precipitous cliffs and walls of the Norman castle, rising above it. This branch of the canal was built to transport limestone from quarries in what is now Castle Woods. The broadleaf woods have several way-marked circular walks. 'In spring they're full of wild garlic and bluebells,' said a dog-walker. 'What I love about Skipton is that you can walk straight from the High Street into these woods and then out onto the hills,' she added. Privately owned Skipton Castle, one of the best preserved medieval fortresses in the UK, is notable for being fully roofed. One wing, not open to the public, is the residence for the current owners, the Fattorini family, but for much of the castle's history it was the Clifford family who called it home. On a visit you can learn about the remarkable achievements of the last member of the clan, Lady Anne Clifford, who restored her family seat after it suffered extensive damage in the Civil War. Near the castle, a treasure trove of a wine shop sells Skipton gin, its bottle labels featuring a boat on the canal, the castle and sheep (the name Skipton is said to come from 'sheep town'). The Wright Wine Company, in a former blacksmith's, has over 1,000 different whiskies, a similar number of gins, £1,000 armagnacs and countless wines. 'We've been shopping here for about 40 years,' said one woman, who the owner greeted warmly with a kiss on the cheek. A loyal customer base appears to be the firm's foundation. 'People drive for an hour and a half to get here,' said an assistant. As for eating out, my pub-acquaintance Chris had mentioned a High Street restaurant, Le Caveau, as the place to go for 'fancy food'. With barrel-vaulted ceilings, this cellar restaurant was once the town's prison – for 'felons and sheep rustlers', it says on the website. At £70 for a five-course menu (or two courses for £35), it was beyond my budget so I made do with home-made soup and a (huge) bowl of chips next to a roaring fire in a friendly inn with rooms, The Woolly Sheep. When it comes to shopping – a key reason why people visit Skipton these days – the market takes place four days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday). Stalls stretching up and down the High Street are full of arts and crafts, meat, eggs, cheeses, cakes, hand-made clothes and second-hand books. That corn mill that I passed, once powered by that tannin-coloured stream, Eller Beck, has been converted into upmarket shops including one selling stylish furniture. Off the High Street, Craven Court is a dinky, covered pedestrian lane with glass roof and wrought iron, developed in the 1980s. Its roots date to a 16th-century theatre but now little boutiques and cafes make for rainy-day browsing. For a break from shopping, the Craven Museum in the Town Hall is small but perfectly formed. There are sheep-shearing and weaving implements, information about the history of lead mining, the local geology of limestone, millstone grit and sandstone, visible in local architecture, and a map of the historic region of Craven, which stretches from Skipton to Settle and whose name might derive from a Celtic word for wild garlic. There is a display about early tourism and how artists such as JMW Turner and Edwin Henry Landseer popularised the region's appeal. 'The Dales have never disappointed me. I still consider them the finest countryside in Britain,' wrote J.B Priestley. Inspired, I took the 72 bus for a 30-minute scenic trip to Grassington, disembarking at the last stop: the Visitor Centre for the Yorkshire Dales National Park. I hiked through the village, past a tea shop selling 'all cakes great and small' and up into the hills for an exhilarating circular hike that included part of the Dales Way and a high footpath following drystone walls and stone-stepped stiles. Drifted snow lay in the shadow of walls, sheep grazed near skeletal trees and the views were far-reaching, rolling away for unhindered miles of beiges and greens. Wooden shutters on an abandoned hilltop farm, Bare House, creaked in the wind. Then it was back to the touristy village for a pint of local ale and a tasty lunch in The Black Horse next to a wood-burning stove before boarding a bus for the nine-mile journey to Skipton. Towns with the epithet 'gateway to…' often have nothing more to offer than their location and a train station. Skipton must be one of the finest gateways there is. Before long, there may be another railway line to get there too. How to do it Paul Miles stayed in Skipton on a holiday hire boat from Anglo Welsh. More conventional accommodation is offered by The Woolly Sheep Inn. Another option is Heriotts Hotel, next to the canal and opposite the train station. You can travel to Skipton easily by train from London Kings Cross, via Leeds.
