Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been accused of “hiking tuition fees to record levels”, as figures showed the charges have risen by a “staggering” 879% since they were introduced.
Fees for UK students at English universities are now set at £9,790 a year, compared to the £1,000 charge when introduced by Tony Blair’s government in 1998.
Debt levels revealed
Analysis from the House of Commons library found undergraduates could owe around £70,000 by the time they finish university if they take the full loan amount, rising to a maximum of £81,000 for those studying in London.
Graduates leaving universities in England in 2025 had an average debt of £53,010, the research added.
In Scotland, where Scottish students do not pay tuition fees, the average debt for those leaving university in 2025 was £17,990.
Political backlash
Mr Burnham previously pledged he would replace tuition fees with a graduate tax, saying this would “lift the millstone of debt” from students. He made the commitment in 2015 during the Labour leadership contest which was won by Jeremy Corbyn.
SNP Westminster economy spokeswoman Kirsty Blackman said: “Andy Burnham once promised to follow the SNP’s lead and scrap university tuition fees but instead they are rising to record levels under his leadership.
“It is shocking that, thanks to the Labour Party, thousands of young people beginning university in England this year will start their working lives burdened with £81,000 of debt.
“There is simply no excuse for the fact that tuition fees have risen by a staggering 879% since the Labour Party introduced them – and it means that Andy Burnham is breaking his promises to millions of students and young people.”
Government response
Ms Blackman said the situation contrasts with that in Scotland, where she vowed “university tuition fees in Scotland will always be free under the SNP”.
She said: “Scottish students graduating in 2025 left university with a whopping £35,000 less debt than students in England.
“Andy Burnham promised he would be different, but he’s already performed more U-turns and broken more promises than Keir Starmer.
“He said he would reduce the cost of living but tuition fees are up, energy bills are up, inflation is up and families are struggling to get by.
“Burdening young people with £81,000 of debt before they’ve even started their working lives isn’t tackling the cost of living – it’s making it increasingly unbearable.
“When Andy Burnham went to university in the 1980s, he paid no fees and received a free maintenance grant, so why is he breaking his promise to scrap fees for this generation and hiking them to record levels instead? It’s the same old broken promises.
“It’s all well-and-good Andy Burnham spending his time making fancy TikTok videos, but what families want to see is real action to put money in their pockets – not another Labour Party tuition fee hike that will take even more money away from hard-pressed households.
“Andy Burnham must come clean and admit whether his promise to scrap fees is another broken promise on the Westminster bonfire.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We know the student loan system we inherited is broken and unfair, and some graduates feel the weight of this more strongly.
“We will continue to look for ways to make the system fairer for students, graduates and taxpayers in a financially sustainable way.
“We’re breaking down barriers to accessing university by increasing maximum maintenance loans this year, targeting the largest amount of support to students from the lowest income families, and we’re reintroducing targeted maintenance grants to help people from all backgrounds access university or college.”
