Middle-class children could lose out on places at top schools under Labour’s proposed changes to the Equality Act, according to the Conservative Party.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer plans to reintroduce a section of the 2010 Equality Act that would require public authorities to take socio-economic background into account when making strategic decisions. The proposal originally known as Harman’s law after former deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman was never enacted and was dropped by the coalition government in 2010.
The Conservatives warn that reviving this clause could mean working-class applicants are given priority for school places, potentially at the expense of middle-class families, who are currently judged based on distance from schools or sibling attendance.
According to Tory research, the policy could also impact NHS waiting lists, housing, and policing, by shifting priorities to reduce inequalities based on class. They argue this could result in class discrimination and longer delays for middle-income families seeking healthcare.
Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Alex Burghart criticised the move, saying it would punish families based on parental occupation.
“The politics of envy is running rife in this punishing Labour Government,” said Burghart. “Rather than dragging people down through social engineering, we should focus on improving equality of opportunity, so hard-working people can get on, irrespective of their class, colour or creed.”
The section Labour wants to restore would place a duty on public authorities to “have due regard to the desirability of exercising [functions] in a way that is designed to reduce the inequalities of outcome which result from socio-economic disadvantage.”
A consultation on the proposal closed in June, but implementation guidelines have not yet been published. However, explanatory notes from the original 2010 Act suggest that the rule could influence decisions around school admissions.
For example, local authorities might be encouraged to target communication campaigns toward deprived neighbourhoods, or adjust admissions criteria to favour children from low-income families.
Currently, school places are allocated by priority groups such as children with special educational needs, siblings of current pupils, and then by proximity to the school.
Critics argue that if socio-economic status becomes a factor in admissions, children who have already been priced out of private education could face further disadvantages, being placed lower on state school waiting lists.
In healthcare, the Conservatives claim that NHS and GP access could be influenced by assessments of social value rather than clinical need, potentially disadvantaging middle-class patients.
Labour says the move is part of a broader effort to tackle systemic inequality. A consultation document published in April explained that the goal is to ensure that public decisions across education, health, and housing contribute to reducing disparities faced by those living in deprived areas.
The Government has not yet announced when or if the revised socio-economic duty will be introduced.
