Keir Starmer says he wouldn't be able to go to university now because of cost
Keir Starmer says he wouldn't be able to go to university if he was a teenager now because of the cost.
The Labour leader said his dream of continuing his studies would be stopped "cold in its tracks" - and said the impact on young people "should shame the Conservatives". Mr Starmer, who went to Leeds University before studying at Oxford as a postgraduate, accused the Government of a "deep betrayal of aspirational Britain".
The remarks will fuel speculation that Labour is planning to announce new measures to support students financially after Mr Starmer abandoned its pledge to scrap tuition fees earlier this year. The commitment to ditch £9,250-a-year fees was written into the last two manifestos under Jeremy Corbyn and Mr Starmer vowed to retain it in his bid for the leadership in 2020.
The Labour leader described going to university as a "turning point" in his life but said he would now be put off by costs. He told the Daily Telegraph: "There wasn't any spare money knocking around to fund me going to Leeds. I worked before I went and then got by on grants, as many young people do. I vividly remember carefully calculating rent, bills and food.
"Going to Leeds to study was a turning point for me. It will be a deep betrayal if one of the legacies of this Tory Government is university, apprenticeships and skills becoming the preserve of the wealthy."
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He said would-be students being denied opportunities due to costs "should shame the Conservatives". Mr Starmer stated: "Tory economic failure choking off the dreams of the next generation is a deep betrayal of aspirational Britain. Talent and aspiration should drive young people - not the affordability of rent, or soaring food prices.
"I vividly remember the excitement of moving to Leeds to study law. It was a financial stretch then. If I were a student today, I wouldn't be able to go."
It comes after he was criticised for saying Labour will "move on" from his commitment to abolish tuition fees, which angered the left wing of the party. Back in May he said: "We are likely to move on from that commitment because we do find ourselves in a different financial situation."
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Tuition fees were first introduced under Labour by Tony Blair at the maximum price of £1,000 a year. Now fees are a maximum of £9,250 per year, with the current system introduced by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition in the face of severe opposition from students.
Mr Starmer said Labour would set out more details on its plans for students in due course after being challenged over his U-turn on tuition fees. He told LBC: "I do think the current scheme is unfair and ineffective and that's why we will change it. So the current scheme will be changed by the incoming Labour government and we will set out our plans."
He warned that the damage inflicted on the economy by the Tories had limited Labour's options, saying: "Some of the things that an incoming Labour government would want to do we are not going to be able to do in the way we would want. But it doesn't mean we are going to leave the current system as it is, because we want a fairer deal for students, a more effective deal for students and for universities."
Pressed again what Labour's offer might be, he said: "We are working up our proposals on that and I will fully come back and talk them through when we got them."
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