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Comment by mytailorisrich | Hacker News Reader

The main issue with Corbyn's Labour is that it is too much on the left, with some major policies being textbook communist (e.g. nationalisations with handing control to workers), and a Marxist as Shadow Chancellor.

Their current delirium about private education, which is also a textbook communist party style policy (suppression, assets seizure and "democratic" redistribution), only adds to this.

I could add their populist war in private landlords and calls for rent controls...

Beyond Corbyn himself this does scare many people away.

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I agree with you on private schools. My other half went to a private school, and her parents were in no way wealthy. She left state education because her primary school messed her education up so much she (alongside other kids in her class) failed her Year 5 SATS and refused to take the blame for not teaching the class adequately. She went from failing in Year 5 to getting a first at uni - probably thanks to a solid private education.

With that being said, the current policy doesn't seem to be to scrap them entirely, but to remove their charity status. This does make sense, but will require more thought than what they've given so far. Removing their status ensures they're paying fair tax, but it also means that they are no longer required to share their facilities with state schools.

It's a weird policy to lead with, and the cynic in me believes they're doing so to push the class divide, in order to get more Leave voters behind them.

> With that being said, the current policy doesn't seem to be to scrap them entirely, but to remove their charity status.

It does not make sense to scrap their charity status.

As you said, people who send their children to private schools are not necessarily wealthy. But in any case they do pay their taxes yet they do not use state schools' resources, which actually means more money per state school pupil. Why would these people have to pay extra taxes for not using state facilities that they already finance? (Because that's exactly what this would mean)

Private schools help the system. Hitting them would hurt everyone.

That being said, at this year party conference they did vote to scrap private schools altogether, to seize their assets, and tho redistribute these assets "democratically".

> they're doing so to push the class divide

It is an ideological class war. This is communist.

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