Higher Education Fairness NOT Fees

10.17.54pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 25th Apr 2005

Wendy Johnson discusses Tuition fees with Lib Dem Higher Education spokesman, David Rendel

9.04.53pm BST (GMT +0100) Sun 24th Apr 2005

We Oppose Spiralling Student Debt. We Propose Scrapping Tuition Fees & Top Up Fees

Wendy Johnson, Liberal Democrat candidate for Ashfield met Higher Education spokesman David Rendel to discuss issues facing students.

No tuition fees, no top-up fees - university affordable for every student. Labour broke their promise on top-up fees. The result: tens of thousands of able students saddled with mountainous debts, or frightened altogether from going to university. Funded from our new 50% rate on incomes over £100,000, Liberal Democrats will abolish all tuition fees - as we already have in Scotland. No one should be deterred from the chance of a university education because of the fear of debt.

Liberal Democrats would:

Abolish all tuition fees - We would get rid of both the present fees and the top-up fees due to be imposed from 2006.

Re-introduce maintenance grants of up to £2000 towards living costs for students from low-income homes. Under Labour's plan, many poorer students will be expected to count their grant towards tuition costs. Under the Liberal Democrats, every penny will be available for living costs.

Put more resources into the university sector to help recruit and retain good staff and improve the quality of the buildings, libraries, etc.

Develop a 21st century higher education system which would bring together universities, further education and e-learning, open up routes to technical and vocational as well as academic qualifications and make it easier for those who wish to study part-time.

Fund these commitments from progressive taxation: from some of the revenues raised by our proposed 50% income tax band for earnings over £100,000 a year - the top 1% of earners, 82% of whom are graduates.

The government says that it is right that graduates should pay for their tuition because on average graduates earn more than the rest of the population. Teachers and nurses are graduates, but whilst they tend to earn more than the government's repayment threshold, they certainly do not earn enough to find repaying five figure debts easy. People who earn over £100,000 per year can afford to pay a bit more in tax, however, and 82% of these people are graduates.