However, during his election campaign in the summer of 2024, Starmer dropped his pledge to abolish tuition fees to focus on addressing the NHS crisis instead.
Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester responded to the rise in fees, saying:
“The announcement of increased tuition fees across universities in England and Wales is understandably a concern for many. Higher education is already a significant investment, and fee increases will add to the financial strain that many students, graduates, and their families experience.
However, the decision to raise tuition fees will not have been taken lightly; it is driven by the need to bring some long term financial stability to the sector and to maintain and enhance the quality of education and research of our higher education system”.
“We welcome the accompanying rise in maintenance loans, which reflects the current economic realities and the rising cost of living for our students”.
In his interview with The Mancunion, Professor Ivison also said: “I think ultimately the tuition fee does have to be linked to inflation because it’s just not sustainable for it not to be, over time”.
You can read the full statement by Professor Ivison here.
