Skip to main content
Logo icon
Lord Lexden

Main navigation

  • About
  • Articles & Reviews
  • Letters
  • News
  • Parliament
  • Publications
  • Contact
Logo icon
Lord Lexden

"You will be held to account," Lord Lexden tells Labour

  • Tweet
Wednesday, 2 April, 2025
  • Speeches
lexden

After inflicting two heavy defeats on the Government, on 1 April the House of Lords reluctantly gave way to the large Labour majority in the Commons, and ended its opposition to the withdrawal of business rates relief from independent schools with charitable status - a deplorable and discriminatory move which means that for the first time these schools will pay taxes that have never been levied on any charities before.

Lord Lexden made a final attack on the Government, noting that “its position throughout has been in essence this: we have to take away - they say - some of the resources of 7 per cent of our country’s schools to enable the other 93 per cent to make improvements.

“State schools will gain little or nothing from this tax raid, which will simply harm independent schools.

“Throughout our debates, I have tried to provide a voice for small independent schools, as President of the Independent  Schools Association, whose 720 members are, for the most part, cherished small local schools. As I have said several times, 40 per cent of independent schools have under 100 pupils.

“Their future is now in jeopardy, thanks to this Government. Ministers will be held to account here in Parliament and in the country at large for the damage their policies will do to these schools ,which contribute so richly to our communities in spheres such as special needs, music, the arts and sport, as I and a number of noble friends have shown in these debates.

“Labour’s discriminatory tax burdens threaten their survival.”

You may also be interested in

image

Did she control the Daily Telegraph?

Thursday, 22 May, 2025
In the years up until the fall of Ted Heath, it was widely believed that what appeared in The Daily Telegraph was decided by the scheming wife of the editor-in-chief, Michael Berry, later Lord Hartwell. A new biography suggests that she was far from being all-powerful.

Show only

  • Articles
  • Recent News
  • Speeches

Lord Lexden OBE

Footer

  • About RSS
  • Accessibility
  • Cookies
  • Privacy
  • About Lord Lexden
  • Articles and Reviews
  • Letters
  • Parliament
  • Publications
Promoted by Alan Mabbutt on behalf of Lord Lexden, both at 4 Matthew Parker Street, London, SW1H 9HQ
Copyright 2025 Lord Lexden OBE . All rights reserved.
Powered by Bluetree