Britain's Labour Party, which is currently leading the polls, has said that if it wins the election, it will increase the value-added tax (VAT) on private school fees by 20% and use the £1.6 billion raised to fund public school education.
The Saltus Wealth Index survey found that if Labour did deliver on that promise, private schools in the UK could lose a third of their pupils –
Twenty-nine percent of private school parents said that rising tuition fees meant they would no longer be able to send their children to private education.
There are also parents of private school students who say they would consider moving in order to live in a better public school enrollment area. Half of the parents surveyed said that while they could keep their children in private education, they had to make changes, such as switching their children from boarding to day school, or finding a cheaper private school.
Only a quarter of parents surveyed said their children's education in private schools would not be affected by Labour's tuition policy.
The Saltus Wealth Index also noted that tuition fees for private schools in the UK have risen by an average of 6% from 2022 to 2023 and could rise by a further 5% in September this year.