Ruth Kelly’s private school decision - a "slap in the face"

Everyone wants the best for their child. What used to be a badge of honour for a Labour politician was that they wanted the best for everyone’s children, irrespective of how much money the parents had.

Ruth Kelly’s decision to withdraw her child from state education in Tower Hamlets undermines the life chances of other children in the borough whose parents cannot afford £15,000 a year to go private.

It is a slap in the face for the hardworking teachers and dedicated support staff in east London who have an excellent record of including children with special needs into mainstream education. It will do nothing for the morale of staff and pupils at the outstanding Stephen Hawking special school in Tower Hamlets, who achieve miracles despite a lack of resources.

And if it truly were the case that there was not adequate provision for Ms Kelly’s child in Tower Hamlets, then there should be - for all children in the borough, funded by the local authority.

Tower Hamlets is one of the most deprived boroughs in Britain. If its minority of well off residents cut themselves free from the services that the majority depend on, then it is little wonder that those services are allowed to decline.

Private schools, with their tax-free status, grotesquely distort the education system in Britain and that’s why the Labour Party used to oppose them. Not any more. Tony Blair has seized on this case to defend private education in general, an elitist anachronism which he, of course, benefited from.