Andy Burnham should honour his 2015 pledge to scrap tuition fees, the SNP has said, urging the incoming prime minister to lift English students out of tens of thousands of pounds of debt.
SNP Calls on Burnham to Fulfill Promise
Alex Kerr, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, called on Mr Burnham to follow Scotland's model of free university education. When running against Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership in 2015, Mr Burnham promised to replace tuition fees with a graduate tax to “lift the millstone of debt” from students. The SNP argues that the cost of tuition in England, currently £9,790 per year, has risen almost every year since then.
Financial Burden on English Students
The SNP pointed out that Scottish graduates start their careers with an average of £35,000 less debt than their English counterparts, calling this an “immense saving.” The party also referenced the National Student Survey, which found overall satisfaction among Scottish university students rose from 80.7% in 2023 to 82.4% in 2024. However, no comparable figure exists for England because the overall satisfaction question is only asked in devolved nations.
Challenges in Scottish Higher Education
Despite the SNP’s advocacy, Scottish universities have repeatedly warned about the sustainability of the current funding model. Hundreds of workers have been made redundant as part of cost-cutting measures. In 2024, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) noted that per-student funding for teaching Scottish students is 22% lower in real terms than in 2013–14. The IFS suggested the Scottish Government may need to reconsider its free tuition policy due to budget pressures, though ministers have ruled this out.
Reliance on International Students
Universities in Scotland have also warned of increasing reliance on income from international students to subsidise free tuition for Scottish students. Mr Kerr stated: “In 2015, Andy Burnham said he would scrap tuition fees to ‘lift the millstone of debt’ from English students – the cost has gone up almost every year since then, so why has Andy Burnham gone silent? He should copy the SNP and scrap tuition fees, otherwise he’ll be off to the same start as Starmer – breaking promises the moment he becomes prime minister.”
Mr Burnham, expected to succeed Sir Keir Starmer in the coming days, has been approached for comment.
