‘The least bad option’: Why concerned mum may quit UK and head to Trump’s America
Following the US election result, internet searches for how to move away from soon-to-be president Donald Trump’s America have spiked.
From Australia to Canada, voters concerned about some of his more divisive policies appear to be putting some genuine thought into finding a new home.
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But back in the UK, there’s one concerned mother who thinks heading back to the States might be the best option for her children.
Liana Fricker, who lives in Surrey, having moved from California more than 20 years ago, has two sons who are diagnosed with ADHD.
Aged 14 and 10, they attend a private school – one “very good” at working with young people with the condition.
But with fees set to climb 15.4% in January when the government scraps the VAT exemption on private schools, she claims she’ll soon be “priced out”.
Liana says she’s been left with no option but to withdraw at least one of her sons from the school. It means sending him to a state school or heading back to the US, where she believes her family would have more choice.
“It’s ironic,” she says. “Because, yes, even with Donald Trump, I have to consider what’s the least bad option.”
In the US, she says the concept of government policy dictating her school choice is an alien one. Instead, there’s an idea “everyone is free to do what they want to do within the law and the Constitution”.
“If you send your children to private school, you get a tax rebate as a thank you for paying tax and not using the service.”
Liana is clear there are “great” state schools in her local area, but the trouble would be making sure her sons were accepted to one – ideally together.
Her 14-year-old is already studying for his GCSEs, and she’s concerned his education could be disrupted. He could have to study entirely new subjects if the same options aren’t offered.
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Private schools ‘will adapt’ to VAT tax
He stands to be one of the thousands of private school pupils who critics fear may be displaced by the government’s policy.
Labour claim the change will fund around 6,500 new teachers in state schools, and the Treasury says it does “not expect this policy to have a significant impact on the number of pupils attending private schools overall”.
But Liana says it will make “everything a lot harder”.
“I think the long-term viability of private education goes out the window,” she says, as parents mull just how long they can afford to keep up with the fees.
And it’s not just private school pupils who stand to feel the impact.
She’s worried children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) – like her sons’ ADHD – who are “priced out of private school” will now “have to go overstretch the resources in the other schools”.
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“If I was a parent in a state school, I would be raging because that’s what’s going to happen.”
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Children with SEN are only exempt from VAT on private school fees if they have a local authority funded Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which places them in a particular school.
It does not account for children whose parents decide to enrol them in private schools due to their needs.
This is the case for Liana, who chose a particular school to suit her children.
“It’s not so much how the private school system helps you – it’s because it gives you choice,” she says.
Liana wants a “fair, impartial, transparent impact assessment across the country”, making sure ministers understand what the policy means for pupils and schools alike.
The government said an impact assessment has taken place, published with the budget at the end of October. It’s been accused of “rushing” the policy through, given the budget came just two months before it comes into effect.
But a source stressed the impact assessment used analysis from the Office for Budget Responsibility, which they consider fair, impartial, and transparent.
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A government spokesperson added: “We want to ensure all children have the best chance in life to succeed. Ending tax breaks on private schools will help to raise the revenue needed to break down the barriers of opportunity for children and young people across the country.
“We do not expect this policy to have a significant impact on the number of pupils attending private schools overall. The number of pupils in private schools has remained steady since 2000, despite around a 75% real term increase in private school fees since that time.”
For Liana’s children, that “best chance in life” may now be across the Atlantic.
The Trump administration has stopped the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the US while it prepares to expand social media vetting of applicants.
A US official said on Tuesday the suspension is intended to be temporary and does not apply to applicants who already have visa interviews scheduled.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an internal administration document.
A downturn in enrolment of international students could hurt university budgets in the US.
To make up for cuts in federal research funding, some colleges previously shifted to enrolling more international students, who often pay full tuition.
Now, an internal cable signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and seen by the Associated Press news agency shows how new student visa interviews are being halted as the US State Department plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting.
The cable says that “in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consulate sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor visa appointment capacity” until the guidance is issued.
It also says the halting of new visa interviews is “effective immediately”.
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Asked about the suspension at a briefing on Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the US uses every available resource to vet people applying for visas.
“We will continue to use every tool we can to assess who it is that’s coming here, whether they are students or otherwise,” Ms Bruce said.
The move, first reported by Politico, is the latest in the White House’s crackdown on international students.
Last week, the Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s ability to enrol international students, removing the college from the programme that allows schools to sponsor foreign students for visas.
That effort was quickly challenged in court and for now is blocked by a federal judge.
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Harvard foreign student ban blocked
This spring the Trump administration also revoked the legal status of thousands of international students already in the country, leading some to leave the US out of fear of deportation.
After many students filed successful legal challenges, the administration said it was restoring the students’ legal status.
But the government also expanded the grounds for terminating international students’ legal status going forward.
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US President Donald Trump’s previous administration stepped up scrutiny of all visa applicants, introducing reviews of their social media accounts.
The policy remained during President Joe Biden’s administration.
An extended pause in scheduling student visas could lead to delays that may disrupt college, boarding school or exchange students’ plans to enrol in summer and autumn terms.
A test flight of SpaceX’s Starship rocket has failed for the third time in a row.
It began spinning out of control about 30 minutes after its launch because of fuel leaks – meaning it broke up on re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
“Our chances of making it all the way down to the Indian Ocean are pretty slim,” a SpaceX commentator said during a livestream.
There had been hopes of a successful mission, as the rocket had progressed beyond the point of explosive past failures in January and March.
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March: SpaceX debris lights up sky after failed launch
But plans to release a series of mock satellites after lift-off were abandoned because its payload door failed to open fully.
The vessel had been mounted atop a Super Heavy booster that was being reused for the first time ever – and while that was meant to make a soft landing, it ended up slamming into the Gulf of Mexico.
SpaceX hopes that Starship will one day be used to ferry people and cargo to Mars, but this latest setback plunges Elon Musk’s ambitions into doubt.
Failed launches earlier this year disrupted dozens of flights across the US – and the project was grounded for two months while an investigation took place.
Musk was due to update the world on his space exploration ambitions later, in a speech entitled “The Road to Making Life Multiplanetary” – but the event has been delayed without explanation.
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Jan: Starship explosion sparks travel chaos
Nonetheless, the world’s richest man described the latest test flight as a “big improvement”.
He also vowed to pick up the pace with future launches – and says the next three flights will take place every three to four weeks.
On X, the company added: “With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability.”
NASA needs SpaceX to make huge advances with Starship over the next 12 months as the US agency tries to fulfil an ambition of landing astronauts back on the moon.
Musk had been hoping for success after pledging to start focusing on his many businesses – Tesla, X and SpaceX among them – after attempting to slash government spending while in the Trump administration.
Footage posted on social media showed the billionaire watching the test flight unfold from a control centre, while wearing the T-shirt “Occupy Mars”.
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