Dear Sir

The politics of envy over common sense.

As someone educated in the state system myself, and the parent of two children in the state system currently, I think I am well placed to speak out against the victory of envy politics over common sense which is Labour's new stance on independent schools.

How can a once sensible party led by moderates like Tony Blair now have drifted so far to the hard left that they believe it is right to effectively ban private education and sanction the confiscation of private school assets that have been funded by generations of parents?

I speak as someone who believes in the state system and is very happy to send his children through that system.

But I do not believe that just because this decision is right for me and my children that it is right for every child and every parent.

There are parents across Worcester who have decided they want to invest their own money in funding a different type of education for their children at a private school such as Kings or RGS.

This is a choice they have made which not only costs them a considerable sum but also means there is more in the funding pot to educate children in the state system.

The real motive behind this policy is not educational achievement but envy.

Envy of anything that is not controlled and dictated by the state.

The current leadership of the Labour Party includes many beneficiaries of the private education system themselves but who now, for purely ideological reasons, want to curtail the choices they themselves enjoyed.

This step towards a one size fits all 'private is always bad and public is always good' approach to policy is wrong-headed and is something we must oppose.

Cllr Marc Bayliss

Leader, Conservative Group Worcester City Council