Next month it’s back to school for thousands of children across Watford and the surrounding area.

For parents, the annual battle to get their kids kitted out is already underway. The price of school uniforms becomes more extortionate every year, with costs spiralling to over £350 per child.

Gone are the days when parents could get the blazer and tie from Clements and buy the rest of the uniform cheaply elsewhere. The increasing personalisation of school uniforms, lack of competition and inflated prices now place unreasonable demands on parents’ pockets and purse strings.

Buying a school uniform shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. It used to be about ensuring that children went to school dressed like their peers with clothes purchased from a variety of sources. There was no stigma.

Schools must simplify their uniforms. For example, there is absolutely no need for sports kits to bear expensive branding.

Many parents are forced to make unenviable choices, including second-hand stuff from lost property because there is no help available. Labour’s efforts to support struggling families by reintroducing school uniform grants in Hertfordshire got voted down by the Tories.

Heading it all up is Education Secretary Gavin Williamson - a man who can’t remember his own A-level results and managed to make a right Horlicks of our children’s exam results two years running. The education gap is widening between those who can afford to send their children to private schools and the rest of us who can’t. However, is that a surprise given the government is led by an old Etonian?

After Labour cut them, class sizes are rising again under the Conservatives. I’m reminded of when things did get better and just how the last Labour government improved the life chances of every child.

  • Cllr Asif Khan is chairman of Watford Labour Party