Labour party hopeful called a hypocrite for teaching at private school

Labour party hopeful is accused of hypocrisy for teaching at a private school while leader Keir Starmer eyes VAT charge

• Jonathan Brash hopes to beat the Conservatives to become MP for Hartlepool
• Said there was ‘absolutely no justification’ for not charging private schools VAT
• Accused of ‘staggering’ hypocrisy as he teaches at his alma mater Yarm School
• Leading independent school in the North East which charges almost £15k a year

A Labour parliamentary candidate was branded a ‘hypocrite’ last night for attacking private schools’ tax break – despite teaching at one.

Jonathan Brash, who hopes to defeat the Conservatives to become the MP for Hartlepool at the next election, said there was ‘absolutely no justification’ for not charging private schools VAT.

But he was accused of ‘staggering’ hypocrisy after it emerged that he was not only privately educated but also now teaches at his alma mater, Yarm School.

Mr Brash’s LinkedIn profile shows that he is head of psychology at the Teesside school, which describes itself as a leading independent school in the North East and charges almost £15,000 a year.

Jonathan Brash (pictured), who hopes to defeat the Conservatives to become the MP for Hartlepool at the next election, said there was ‘absolutely no justification’ for not charging private schools VAT

He wrote on Twitter: ‘Charging thousands of pounds a term to provide education is not a charitable act and there is absolutely no justification for this tax break. It should be abolished and the money used to support state education.’

A Tory source said last night that ‘this kind of hypocrisy’ was ‘staggering but unsurprising’ from the Labour party.

A Labour spokesman said the party ‘supports parents’ rights to choose the form of their child’s education’.

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