Socialists say scrap fees, cancel all student debt, take the wealth off the super-rich

Adam Harmsworth, Coventry Socialist organizer

The student debt crisis is back in the news after MPs launched an inquiry into Labour’s decision to freeze the repayment threshold for over 5 million graduates on Plan 2 loans.

Plan 2 loans were created by the Tory-Lib Dem coalition government in 2012. Under the Plan 2 terms, graduates earning over a certain salary threshold pay back 9% of their income above that amount, chasing a debt that increases by at least RPI inflation. In November, chancellor Reeves fixed the threshold at £29,385 until 2030.

Labour is trying to shove more graduates stuck on low incomes into making repayments on loans that are impossible to pay off.

The ‘concern’ from sections of the establishment couldn’t be less genuine. Sir Nick Clegg, who co-led the Con-Dem government that trebled tuition fees after he pledged to oppose them, has called the system a “mess”. His solution is just to reverse some decisions made after he lost the election in 2015, but keep graduates stuck in horrendous debt.

In the Financial Times, Cambridge University’s new chancellor Lord Chris Smith (Tony Blair’s first culture secretary in 1997) criticised the high interest rates and the low repayment thresholds. But rather than consider if the tuition fees his government introduced were an abysmal idea, he instead argues that too many young people are going to university! So much for Blair’s “education, education, education”.

The National Union of Students (NUS) meanwhile has launched a petition merely calling for “fairer terms” on student debt. So far 12,676 students have signed. The NUS should be mobilising tens of thousands of students to fight for free, fully funded education.

University education is in crisis. Fees have risen while maintenance grants have been scrapped, yet universities are making cuts and still not balancing the books. 68% of students now work while studying, and food banks are popping up in uni buildings to support impoverished students.

The government can find money for war and backing US imperialism in a heartbeat, but is relying more on students, graduates, and university workers to keep higher education afloat.

Socialist Students are championing the fight for free education, and taking money off the super-rich to fund our universities – for funding not fees. Join the socialists fighting for a decent future for higher education!