Bridget Phillipson in hypocrisy row after promising graduates will ‘pay less’
Bridget Phillipson is facing another hypocrisy row after promising just last June that graduates will "pay less under Labour" before raising tuition fees.
An unearthed by the education secretary reveals how she vowed to overhaul the graduate repayment system to give young people "breathing space at the start of their working lives".
Yet just 16 months later, she announced Labour would raise tuition fees for the first time in eight years by £285 to £9,535 next year.
It comes after Ms Phillipson last month was criticised for playing hockey on a private school AstroTurf hours before tweeting the independent institutions didn't "need" the pitches.
It is unclear whether the cost of tuition will continue to go up in subsequent years and Labour has suggested it plans a wide-ranging review of university funding.
The rise means students studying at university from next year could end up paying more than current graduates in loan repayments.
Critics were quick to point to an by Ms Phillipson in The Times last year stating that "the Government could reduce the monthly repayments for every single new graduate".
She went on to say that "reworking the present system gives scope for a month-on-month tax cut for graduates, putting money back in people's pockets when they most need it".
Monday's announcement also included an inflation-linked rise in the maximum maintenance loans students can receive, giving an increase of £414 a year to help with living costs.
Ms Phillipson left the door open to uprating the salary threshold at which graduates begin repaying loans. The move would allow some university-educated workers to keep more of their take home pay.
She told Sky News on Monday that ministers would look into the issue.
The Government would consider "what is required to get our universities on a more sustainable footing but also to deliver a better deal for students as a part of that," she said, adding that she "intends to look at" increasing the repayment threshold.
Graduates in England and Wales currently repay 9pc of their income earned over their relevant repayment threshold, which is £25,000 per year for students on the rolled-out "plan five" loans introduced last year.
The total marginal tax rate for graduates can be significantly higher than those faced by non-graduates, or graduates who did not take out a student loan.
A graduate who started university before 2023 with average student loan debt of £50,800 and a starting salary of £33,000 could face repayments of up to £70,000 before their loan is written off after 30 years, according to analysis by think tank the Intergenerational Foundation.
Labour's decision to increase tuition fees comes after a prolonged freeze in the cost of studying at university, last increased by Theresa May in 2017.
The move was criticised by unions representing university teaching staff. Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), said the tuition fee rise was "economically and morally wrong".
She said: "Taking more money from debt-ridden students and handing it to overpaid underperforming vice-chancellors is ill conceived and won't come close to addressing the sector's core issues."
University leaders welcomed the higher fees, after campaigning for years for a tuition fee rise to boost funding in higher education amid many institutions facing financial deficits.
Viviene Stern, of Universities UK, the industry body for British universities, said: "Today's decision cannot have been easy for the Government, but it is the right thing to do. Thriving universities are essential to a thriving UK, delivering stronger growth, better public services and improving individual life chances."
The Government was approached for comment.
