Miliband To Unveil Tuition Fee Cut Promise

Ed Miliband will today outline Labour’s election promise to reduce tuition fees – rolling back some of the increase which was implemented by the coalition.

Under the party’s plans, the cap on undergraduate fees would be reduced from £9,000 to £6,000 per year.

Mr Miliband first expressed aspirations of introducing this policy in 2011 – and the shadow cabinet minister responsible for realising it, Chuka Umunna, described the process as “long and tortuous”.

At an audience with students in Leeds, the Labour leader will say: “We all know that under David Cameron and Nick Clegg, the fee cap for full-time undergraduates was trebled to £9,000 per year.

“With most universities charging close to the maximum, graduates now leave university with more than £44,000 debt on average.

“My generation would never have imagined beginning our adult life with that amount of debt. But this Government expects it of this generation.”

The Labour leader will publish a “zero-based review” of Higher Education, arguing that students cannot afford to repay fees, leading to a ballooning burden for the taxpayer, much of which will have to be written off.

“The Government has designed a system which is burdening students with debt today, and set to weigh down the taxpayer with more debt tomorrow. Much of this money will never be paid back,” he will add.

“By the late 2040s, student loan write-offs will be hitting £21bn a year – almost double the entire cost of police services in England and Wales. It must go down as one of the most expensive broken promises in history.”

Vince Cable, the Cabinet Minister responsible for fees, told Sky News: “The system isn’t broken, it works extremely well. The Labour Party has twice in past made pledges on tuition fees that they’ve had to abandon.

“I can tell you with almost complete certainty that if they got into Government they’d abandon this one, because they know perfectly well it’s undeliverable.”

According to Mr Cable, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has reported the UK system was the “best in Europe”, but the Liberal Democrats are well aware of the electoral damage they will receive from tuition fees.

In seven seats, students hold the balance of power. Mr Clegg and Mr Cable have repeatedly apologised for having made a pre-election pledge not to raise tuition fees, abandoned when in Government.

The tuition fees announcement will form the centrepiece of Labour’s youth manifesto.

Labour has been squeezed by the Green Party when it comes to support from the under-25s, and it needs to motivate young people just to register to vote.

But it also needs to keep university chiefs on side. Labour is expected to raid tax breaks for large pension pots to replace the universities’ lost income from fees.

The full details will be announced this afternoon.

Source Article from https://uk.news.yahoo.com/miliband-unveil-labours-tuition-fee-promise-022713261.html

Miliband To Unveil Tuition Fee Cut Promise