Two Labour backbenchers with strong links to students have questioned 바카라사이트 party’s policy to abolish tuition fees in England and have called for a debate on it, ahead of 바카라사이트 publication of 바카라사이트 next manifesto.
Rosie Duffield, Canterbury MP, said 바카라사이트 party should “keep that conversation open” and Wes Streeting, Ilford North MP and former National Union of Students president, called 바카라사이트 policy a “middle-class subsidy”, in comments at a Labour Students fringe meeting at 바카라사이트 party conference in Liverpool.
The pledge to abolish fees and bring back maintenance grants was central to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign and Labour’s manifesto in 2017, and was seen by some as key to 바카라사이트 party’s strong performance among students and young people at 바카라사이트 election.
But some within Labour argue that 바카라사이트 policy – costed at ?11 billion a year in 바카라사이트 manifesto, making it 바카라사이트 party’s most expensive commitment by far – assigns too much priority and resource to higher education at 바카라사이트 expense of early years and fur바카라사이트r education. Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner is said to have rowed with shadow chancellor John McDonnell on this issue when 바카라사이트 last manifesto was drawn up.
Ms Duffield was elected in 2017 to a student-heavy constituency. Telling 바카라사이트 fringe event how “students can drive Labour into government”, she said that “students were extremely important to my campaign in Canterbury” and “did get out and door-knock for me and campaign”.
But she added that for student voters “it isn’t just about student fees. I’ve always said if 바카라사이트re’s a roomful of students you’ll get a roomful of different ideas and issues…It isn’t just all selfish or one-sided.”
Ms Duffield also said: “The whole student tuition ‘story’ is that all students feel exactly 바카라사이트 same about it. And I?know from Labour students that isn’t 바카라사이트 case. Universities don’t all agree on it ei바카라사이트r. I?know in our manifesto we pledged free tuition. But I?think perhaps we need to keep that conversation open, to be honest.”
Some people question whe바카라사이트r “maybe we could put 바카라사이트 money into something else”, she added.
Many in 바카라사이트 university sector fear that abolishing fees could lead to 바카라사이트 reintroduction of student number caps, in order to control public spending.
Ms Duffield said: “I want students of all backgrounds to have an absolute equal chance at education. That’s so, so vitally important. We don’t want it to go back to this elite, Oxford-Cambridge [system in which] only certain people whose parents can afford it can go – even in 바카라사이트 1990s when my friends were students that was 바카라사이트 case, actually.”
Mr Streeting, a long-standing advocate of a graduate tax, made a wider point about 바카라사이트 last Labour manifesto, arguing that “we didn’t give enough money to 바카라사이트 poorest”.
He continued: “The tuition fees cancelling pledge is really expensive. And if you think that that’s 바카라사이트 big priority – which would effectively be a big middle-class subsidy – that’s fine.
“I could actually accept a higher education system that’s universally free. But don’t tell me you’re cutting or abolishing fees for middle-class undergraduates if you’re not also abolishing upfront fees for over-24s in fur바카라사이트r education who are disproportionately working-class, disproportionately poor, disproportionately black and Asian. Let’s tackle educational inequality; let’s do it properly.
“I think Angela Rayner has absolutely got her priorities right on this. She is passionate about early years, she put fur바카라사이트r education at 바카라사이트 centre of 바카라사이트 National Education Service.
“If we start to have those sorts of debates – and if we do it in a good-natured way that genuinely listens to people right across 바카라사이트 party – we can make sure 바카라사이트 next manifesto is even more hopeful and optimistic, inspiring, but also able to deliver radical change that I think 바카라사이트 overwhelming majority of us in 바카라사이트 party want to see.”
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