Danny Beales

I completely agree that everyone who would and could benefit from a university education should be able to go. We do not widen opportunities by cutting them. John Burn-Murdoch’s analysis in the Financial Times has shown that other developed countries have increased participation in higher education and not seen the impact on graduate wages that we have seen. That is not inevitable as part of wider higher education participation. We have seen it because of the stagnation in the economy and of productivity caused by the last Conservative Government, not because of higher education participation. There is a range of cost of living pressures on younger people. Yes, there are student loan costs, but there are also rising housing costs, the stagnation of wages more generally, childcare costs and renting costs, many of which need urgent action. I hear from young people in my constituency about the impact of starting a family or getting on the housing ladder. There was a generational compact that if people worked hard and got on, they would do better than their parents’ generation, but things we had come to take for granted were broken under the 14 years of Conservative Government. Action was needed, and I am pleased that this Government are reforming and scrapping the broken leasehold system, capping ground rents and taking action on service charges. They have introduced the Renters Rights Act, which the Conservative party opposed. They are taking action on childcare with the 30 hours free childcare, and bringing down inflation and interest rates. I welcome the fact that the Chancellor and the Minister with responsibility for higher education have acknowledged that action is needed on student loans and are actively reviewing the student loans system. I hope that the Treasury Committee’s full inquiry, which is under way, will be fully and promptly responded to by the Government. Let us be clear: the proposals before us would not solve the student loans system. They are a gimmick that would close participation and close doors of opportunity, which is exactly the opposite of what people and young people in this country need.