WATCH: Bridget Phillipson refuses to confirm Labour stance on burka ban

GB News

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson dodged a grilling on Labour's stance on the burka ban, following calls by Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin.Speaking to GB News, Phillipson declared "women can make their own choices as to what they want to wear", but refused to disclosed Labour's position on a ban.FULL STORY HERE.

Transcript

00:00Can I talk to you about VAT on private school fees?

00:02Obviously something that you have been in favour of, something that you've pushed for.

00:06You will have seen these independent school council figures.

00:10They are saying that 13,000 pupils have left private schools in the past 12 months.

00:17Now, the government had predicted around 3,000 pupils would leave.

00:21So we're dealing with an extra 10,000 more than the government had predicted.

00:25So in terms of a revenue raiser, this must be a huge concern to you

00:30because you're risking raising absolutely nothing or not very much

00:34and then disrupting a child's education,

00:37pulling them out of the school that they were in with their friends

00:39and also adding more pressure to the state school system.

00:45So just firstly in terms of the figure,

00:47I think we're potentially in terms of those numbers comparing two different periods of time.

00:51But the wider point is that we as a government have made the decision

00:54to prioritise investing in state schools.

00:56That's where the majority of our children go to school.

00:58It's where the majority of your viewers will be sending their children to school.

01:01And what they want is more investment in our schools, more teachers,

01:04measures like the one I'm setting out today around expanding access to free school meals.

01:08That's the difference that a Labour government is bringing.

01:10It's not something you'd be seeing from conservative or reform politicians.

01:13But we have made some choices.

01:15And one of the choices that we're making is to support families, to support schools.

01:18And, you know, I'm afraid I simply don't accept the scaremongering that we've seen

01:23from the private schools lobby.

01:24They've made their case that they're entitled to make it.

01:27But we did set out this policy position a very, very long time ago.

01:30We've been clear about why we're doing it.

01:32And that's to invest more money in our state schools.

01:34So what support have you given to state schools then

01:36to cope with the influx of 13,000 private school pupils?

01:40We, firstly, I don't accept the kind of the wider premise of all of this.

01:47But there is also a change in terms of the birth rate.

01:50So we're going to have fewer children and young people coming through state

01:53schools anyway because of the fall in the birth rate.

01:55I'm confident that schools are able to manage this process.

01:58But I don't simply accept some of the framing around this.

02:01And it is a question, however, of priorities.

02:03Do we prioritise tax breaks for private schools?

02:05Or do we prioritise investing in state education?

02:08And I choose the latter.

02:08I'm sorry, when you talk about the birth rate,

02:11are you mentioning the fact that the birth rate, of course, is plunging?

02:14You're banking on the fact that British people, at least,

02:17aren't just having children anymore and you're factoring that into your plans.

02:20Is that what you just said?

02:23It is.

02:23So we've got falling rules in our schools.

02:25So we've got fewer children moving from primary into secondary.

02:28That's been happening for some time.

02:31And that means that, yeah, we do have a situation where there are falling rules

02:36in our schools in terms of the number of places that are required.

02:38Should the government not be doing more to try and promote the birth rate?

02:41You look to places such as Hungary, where women are being given massive tax breaks

02:45to have more children and start families.

02:47It seems like we're pretty lacklustre in this country.

02:49And it's not just a side talking point.

02:52It's, I mean, if you listen to people such as Elon Musk or whoever,

02:56they'll say it's an existential threat to humanity.

02:58So I want people to make choices about what's right for them in terms of,

03:05you know, family shape and structure.

03:07I do hear from quite a lot of people that they are making choices about family

03:11size because housing costs are high or they're concerned about job security.

03:16And we are taking measures to support families.

03:18For example, the around the expansion of childcare to provide more help for

03:23families.

03:23So that will make a big difference.

03:24And what I'm setting out today around free school meals will do that too.

03:28But I want people to make the decision that's right for them,

03:30not to be driven by economic circumstance.

03:33And, you know,

03:33I do hear from people that sometimes they've made that decision because it's just,

03:37it's just too hard.

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