Letter from Mark Langabeer, Hastings and Rye Labour member
Bridget Philiipson, the Education Secretary, announced an increase in tuition fees of over 3%, the first increase in over eight years. This is a far cry from Labour’s commitment to abolish fees and not surprisingly, the Tory media have focused on Keir Starmer’s pledge during his election for Party Leader, not to raise fees.
The rise is due, apparently, to the growing financial crisis facing universities and according to Emily Thornberry, who was questioned about this on the Politics Today programme, is a ‘short term’ measure. The Government are to undertake a review of university funding for the longer term from next year.
The response of the government has been that circumstances have ‘changed’ and that government finances have deteriorated since that commitment was made. Philipson has suggested that the management teams should look at the remuneration packages that are received by senior staff. This appears to be purely voluntary.
However, even if university heads cut or froze their pay, that would not solve the funding crisis within that sector. The Tories have added to the problem of funding by their obsession with the level of immigration, with the result that the number of foreign students coming here to study has fallen through the floor, because they are no longer able to bring their families with them. It appears that the current Labour Government are not willing to reverse this policy.
Although the heads of the universities, understandably, welcome the rise in fees, it most certainly wont be a hit already debt-laden students. Students and youth in general, have been the mainspring of support for Labour in recent times and this partly stems from a commitment to abolish tuition fees altogether.
In the 2010 elections, the Lib-Dems under Nick Clegg also promised to abolish fees, but they ended up, in coalition with the Tories doing the opposite. It has taken them fourteen years to recover electorally, after students were ‘Clegged’. If Labour pursue a policy of increasing fees, then support from Britain’s youth and students will similarly drain away,
It is the big companies – those that require highly skilled and professional workers – who are among the main beneficiaries from the university sector, but Rachel Reeves has foolishly ruled out a rise in Corporation Tax. However, she could introduce a wealth tax and phase out tuition fees during the next four years. That is the choice that faces the current Labour Leadership. To do nothing will result in bankruptcy for many universities and damage the British economy. That is exactly what the rightward moving Tory Party and Reform UK would happily entertain.
[Top picture: Newcastle University, from Wikimedia Commons here.]
