Ahead of the expected increase in university fees, some ministers may regret what they said on this issue.

Much of what is being said, from the education minister to the prime minister himself, does not fully align with the upcoming wage increase…

Sir Keir Starmer

Waiving tuition fees was one of many promises Sir Keir made when running for the Labor leadership in 2020.

Listed as one of his “social justice” vows, he said he would “support abolishing tuition fees and invest in lifelong learning.”

And like most of these words, he later retracted them.

He told the BBC’s Question Time program during the general election that tuition fees were “too expensive for students” and “don’t work very well” but the economy was too badly damaged to scrap them anymore.

He suggested instead that he wanted to use the money he would have spent getting rid of them to shorten NHS waiting lists.

Sir Keir added: “This is a political decision I have made – I will not abolish tuition fees because I want to invest that money into getting our NHS back on its feet.”

Angela Rayner

The deputy prime minister has previously sought to make political capital by berating the Liberal Democrats for reneging on a promise to abolish tuition fees during the 2010 general election.

They then entered a coalition with the Conservatives and instead saw wages tripled, leading the party’s then leader and deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, to issue a now-infamous apology video.

Writing in The Independent before the 2019 election, Ms Rayner called it “one of the most astonishing acts of hypocrisy in British political history” and – like Sir Keir in 2020 – proudly promised to scrap them if Labor won power.

Bridget Phillipson

During the election, the current education secretary said a Labor government would ease the “burden” on graduates by reducing monthly student loan repayments.

And last year he wrote an article for The Times addressing graduates, telling them: “You’ll pay less under a Labor government.”

labor manifesto

While Labour’s 2024 election manifesto was fairly superficial in terms of actual commitments, it made no mention of raising wages and suggested the current funding model “doesn’t work” for anyone.

Here’s what he said:

“The current higher education funding deal does not work for taxpayers, universities, staff or students.

“Labour will act to create a secure future for higher education and the opportunities it creates across the UK.

“We will work with universities to benefit students and our economy.”