Labour should have a policy to deal with rich people seceding from the rest of society by buying social privilege
Gordon Brown gave substance to the slogan of “levelling up”. In 2006, he said that his “long-term aim” was to fund state school pupils at the same level as those in private schools. Back then, fee-paying schools had 60% more resources per pupil. Mr Brown made some headway: by 2010, he had raised state school funding by 20% to a high point of £7,200 per pupil. Since then, the Conservative party has been in charge. In the last decade, independent school income has raced away while state school spending per pupil in England, says the Institute for Fiscal Studies, has seen the largest cut – 9% in real terms – in over 40 years.
The thinktank has sifted the wheat from the government’s rhetorical chaff. Even with Boris Johnson’s promised extra £7bn in state school spending, per-pupil expenditure in 2023 will still be “1 to 2% lower in real terms” than in 2010. Mr Johnson’s commitment to “fair funding” turns out to be bigger real-term funding increases for wealthier schools than for ones with more deprived intakes. A pay rise for teachers may arrive, but potential recruits face larger class sizes and equipment shortages.