Forget student loans, the national debt is the real mortgage on the young Opinion Debating student loan interest distracts from the far larger and permanent national debt and its interest payments, which place a compounding, long-term financial liability on younger taxpayers who already face rising costs and a weakening worker-to-retiree ratio, says Martin Beck The campaign to cut student loan interest rates is welcome. A system where balances rise [...]
Tories pledge to cut ‘eyewatering’ interest on some student loans Economics The Conservative party has pledged to slash some of the interest paid on student loans issued up until 2023 amid growing opposition around the crippling amount of student debt. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the Plan 2 loans system – which around 5.8 million took out loans under between 2012 and 2023 – “increasingly feels [...]
The Debate: Should student loan debt be forgiven? Opinion Student loans are under the spotlight, with those who took out plans between 2012 and 2023 feeling the bite. Should student debt (or some of it) be forgiven?
Don’t blame universities for the graduate crisis January 30, 2026 Blaming universities for the graduate crisis is convenient, but it isn't true, writes Eliza Filby. Here's what's actually gone wrong.
Graduate crisis proves British universities are no longer fit for purpose January 28, 2026 It's time to accept that a substantial proportion of British universities are simply not fit for purpose, writes Paul Ormerod.
Young professionals are the hardest-hit by this punitive Budget November 27, 2025 For anyone still tempted to believe Rachel Reeves has stuck to her manifesto promise not to put taxes up on working people, let me disabuse you of the notion. As the OBR pointed out yesterday, by 2030 there will be more than 10m people dragged into paying higher rates of income tax compared to 2023, [...]
The Debate: Is going to university still worth it? August 13, 2025 As A-Level students prepare to open their results, we ask: is university even worth it anymore? We put two experts head to head.
The ‘university for all’ rhetoric is hurting students and the taxpayer August 12, 2025 Decades of “university for all” rhetoric is hurting students whose degrees no longer pay off, and taxpayers who are stumping up the cost.
Doctors strike: Streeting floats student loan write-off in BMA meeting July 18, 2025 Wes Streeting could offer to write off student loan debt for doctors to persuade the British Medical Association (BMA) to call off a planned strike. The idea came up in an extended meeting between the health secretary and the medical union, just a week out from a five day walkout which could involve as many [...]
‘Student Tax’ to hit graduates on minimum wage by April January 16, 2025 Thousands of graduates will find themselves stranded in their home town, unable to root out professional opportunities, when April’s hike in the minimum wage drags them into the threshold of student loan repayments, a top financial services firm has warned. The government announced an above inflation rise in the National Living Wage of 5.6 per [...]