Tristram Hunt MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, responding to Nicky Morgan’s refusal to rule out for-profit schools, said:

“Nicky Morgan has let the cat out of the bag, and parents will be alarmed that Conservative ministers are motivated not by improving the learning outcomes for all children, but by the prospect of using state schools to generate dividends for shareholders.

"Labour is unequivocal in its rejection of the profit schools model that has done so much damage to education standards and raise inequality elsewhere.

"Nicky Morgan’s refusal to rule out letting companies make a profit out of our children’s education reveals the true intentions that lie behind Cameron’s programme for a second term in office.”