Poll reveals voters again Labour’s plan to scrap tax breaks for personal colleges
Voters have given their backing to Labour’s plan to end tax breaks for private schools.
In a boost to Keir Starmer ahead of his manifesto launch, a poll shows the public support key policies including renationalising railways and recruiting more police officers and teachers.
The survey conducted by Whitestone Insight suggests the ideas are backed even by Tory voters. Labour has said it will pay for extra teachers in classrooms by removing the VAT exemption on independent school fees.
A majority of voters (53%) support scrapping the tax break with just 19% opposed. Some 39% of Tory voters back the idea with 38% against. The plan to recruit 6,500 extra teachers is backed by 86% of the public.
Renationalising the railways is supported by 66%, compared to 13% who oppose. Half of Conservatives (50%) agree with taking the trains back into public hands. An overwhelming 87% of voters say they are in favour of Labour’s plan to recruit 13,500 extra police officers and community support officers.
Rishi Sunak this week is expected to flirt with pulling the country out of the European Convention on Human Rights, but the poll indicates this won’t help his chances as there is not support for this. Withdrawing from the ECHR is supported by 28% with 49% against. Mr Starmer’s plan to cancel the plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is backed by 43%.
The Labour leader today said he hopes his policy plan will be a “winning manifesto”. Speaking to reporters in Grays in Essex he said: “The manifesto’s a really good document and I’m looking forward to you seeing it.
“The best manifestos we produced as a party were 1945, 1964 and 1997 because they told the story about the future of the country and they were winning manifestos from opposition into power. I want the 2024 manifesto to join that list, of not only telling a story about the country, but being a winning manifesto.”
Whitestone Insight interviewed 2,001 adults in Britain online on June 5 and 6.
