Keir Starmer plots equality law 'to penalise middle class and privately educated', Tories claim
Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to put 'class war' on the statute book by introducing an equality law which will discriminate against the middle classes and privately educated, the Tories claim.
A consultation document published by Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson reveals that the Office for Equality and Opportunity is seeking evidence on how to 'commence the socio-economic duty in the Equality Act 2010'.
This requires public authorities to give 'due regard' to disparities of income and socio-economic status when making decisions.
Tories argue this will lead to more cases like that highlighted in last week's The Mail on Sunday, revealing a mother's fury at 'shocking discrimination' by the NHS, denying her son vital treatment because he goes to a west London private school.
The Government has already introduced a punishing 20 per cent VAT hike on private school fees.
The Equality Act was pushed through by the last Labour Government but the crucial section on socio-economic duty was vetoed by the Tories when they took power after the 2010 election.
Labour pledged in its 2024 manifesto to revive the provision to extend equality laws covering race, age, gender, disability and sexuality to include 'the inequality of social class'. It would entitle public bodies to make spending decisions that penalise middle class areas by diverting funds and opportunities to those deemed less privileged.
It has raised the prospect of fewer bin collections, library closures and council tax hikes in richer areas.
The Office for Equality and Opportunity paper reads: 'The socio-economic duty requires specified public authorities, when making strategic decisions such as deciding priorities and objectives, to give due regard to how their decisions might help to reduce inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage.'
A Tory source said: 'In independent education, children will be permanently discriminated against by the wider policy of using socio-economic background to allocate public services, as their choice of school will be used against them by state bodies long into the future.'
Shadow Education Secretary Neil O'Brien said: 'Labour's class war law will divide middle England and punish families who work hard and aren't on benefits.
'By enshrining woke identity politics in law, children will be discriminated against based on their postcode and their parents' occupation.
'Families will be marked down when children apply for school or university and face worse public services if they dare to send their children to independent schools. It will create a chilling culture in the public sector that will divide society and undermine equality of opportunity.'
But a Labour source said: 'This is more desperate stuff from a Tory party sliding into irrelevance. It's more than a bit rich for the Conservatives to complain about socio-
economic duty when Tory councils across the country have voluntarily applied it.
'Tories used to care about levelling up the neglected parts of this country and their public services that the socio-economic duty is designed to improve – they have nothing to offer.'
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