March 2026

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right: there is nothing progressive about letting a young person take a university degree that has negative returns for them. That is not fair or right, and we should fix it. The problem is not just the loans, but a system that funnels young people into university courses that do not get them jobs and do not allow them to repay their loans. The Institute for Fiscal Studies says that 30% of university degrees have negative returns for those who study them. It is

The Chancellor said that the system was fair and reasonable—what a joke! The Government do not recognise the scale of the problem, but we do, and we have come up with a plan to fix it. What is their plan? It does not exist.

No, the plan would massively widen choice. At the moment, the number of young people who want to start apprenticeships is much smaller than the number of apprenticeships available—we need to change that and the system. It is not good enough for the Government to table an amendment to our motion stating that they will make the system fairer and financially sustainable, when they are making it less fair and less financially sustainable. At the moment, the system is punishing aspiration, and that i

My right hon. Friend is quite right: not only did Labour mislead the public, but it then made things worse. Now, Labour Members will not vote to fix it. That is Labour all over. We need a plan to fix the problem, but it is not enough to fiddle with one part of the problem. We need comprehensive change, and that is exactly what we Conservatives have come up with: a new deal for young people. The plan, which could be implemented today, would reverse the threshold freeze, make interest rates for pl

If the hon. Lady thinks the system is broken, I invite her to vote for our motion. Every metric for young people has got worse since this Government came in. It is crystal clear that for young people, as for the rest of the country, Labour is not working.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We have a chance today to create a new deal for young people. I hope that some Government Members vote for it.

Parliamentary appearance by Jo Platt

Parliamentary appearance by Tom Collins

The hon. Gentleman is missing the fact that Labour has made it worse. Even now, the Chancellor has changed her tune—no surprise given the track record of this Government. She now says that the system is “broken”, but young people are apparently not at the “front of the queue”. I did not see that on the front of the Labour manifesto. We on the Opposition Benches think that young people should be at the front of the queue, because thanks to Labour, Britain’s youth unemployment rate has topped the

I beg to move, That this House calls on the Government to set the interest rate on Plan 2 student loans at a level which ensures that balances will never rise faster than RPI inflation; further calls on the Government to stop the freeze on repayment thresholds; and also calls on the Government to create more apprenticeships for 18-21 year olds, funded by controlling the number of places on university courses where the benefits are significantly outweighed by the cost to graduates and taxpayers.

The right hon. Lady talks about making the system fair. Will she comment on what her party did in government? The Conservatives abolished the maintenance grant, which means that low-income students have bigger debts and have to pay back more. This Labour Government have acted to bring back the maintenance grants that her party took away.

Parliamentary appearance by Paul Davies

Parliamentary appearance by Nigel Farage

Parliamentary appearance by Blair McDougall

Parliamentary appearance by Blair McDougall

In January, the Chancellor was saying that the student loans system was “fair and reasonable”. She now admits —as of yesterday—that it is broken. In one sense, we have won this debate even before it started. The Government say that they are looking at these issues, but they would not be looking at them if it were not for the Opposition raising them, and I do not find the promise to “look at these issues” very reassuring, given their track record. In the run-up to the last election, the Education

Parliamentary appearance by Dawn Butler

In constituencies such as mine, social and community enterprises are thriving. They are practical working solutions, driven by local people who care deeply about where they live. We see that in employee ownership, such as in United Auctions, where employees now have a direct stake in the business. We see it in community energy, through organisations such as the Callandar community development trust, which generates income that is reinvested back into local priorities. We also see it in communiti

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue, and he has raised it with me personally. Our thoughts are obviously with the victim. I was very concerned to hear that the CEO of Travelodge cancelled the meeting with MPs and I would urge them to reconsider. That meeting needs to go ahead with relevant MPs and with the relevant Minister, and the sooner it goes ahead the better. I hope that the CEO of Travelodge is listening to this exchange. I thank my hon. Friend for raising the issue, not just on

Parliamentary appearance by Joe Morris