The Green Party has said all student debt should be wiped off
following the call from vice chancellors to suspend interest
payments on student loans for 15 months. [1].
Green Party finance speaker Molly Scott Cato responded to the
call from vice chancellors in withering terms:
“The idea that students should be charged a slightly lower rate
of interest on their loans is wildly inadequate at a time when
they are bearing the brunt of the Covid lockdowns. Most people
will be astonished to learn that the current interest rate is as
high as 5.6% when market interest rates are close to zero.
“We are condemning many young people to a working life of debt
bondage, since they will never be able to repay their loans but
rather act as cash cows for wealthier and older people who hold
investment portfolios. [2]
“Education is and always has been a public good and should be
funded by public investment. The desperately misguided policy to
privatise universities, begun under a Labour government, needs to
be reversed and the government must step in to ensure students
can receive a world-class education without the burden of debt.
[3]
“The Green Party is committed to abolishing student fees and
adding the debts accrued to the national debt to be paid back
over the long term.”
Co-chair of the Young Greens, Rosie Rawle, added:
“The suggestion from vice chancellors to suspend interest
accruing on student loans for just 15 months is well-meaning but
frankly insulting. Many other countries in Europe offer free
higher education, as does Scotland, and students in England and
Wales should not be unfairly penalised by carrying a lifetime
debt burden. The three parties that dominate at Westminster have
all betrayed young people. Now is the time for them to make
amends.”
Molly Scott Cato concluded:
“Our young people have stood by older generations through this
pandemic, putting their lives on hold and sacrificing their
educational opportunities. The least we can do in return is to
remove this dreadful lifetime burden of debt from them.”
ENDS
Notes
1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-55895334
2. House of Commons Library estimates the value
of outstanding loans at the end of March 2020 at £140 billion:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01079/
3. Timeline of betrayal of young people: https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-how-students-have-been-misled-and-lied-to-for-20-years
