Labour must rule out tuition fees for Scotland
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has been urged to rule out the introduction of tuition fees under any future Scottish Labour government, following reports that the UK Labour government will hike fees for students in England to record levels.
Scottish Greens education spokesperson Ross Greer has urged Mr Sarwar to condemn the unfair decision and to instruct Scottish Labour MPs to vote against it.
Mr Greer said:
“Tuition fees are a fundamentally unfair policy, saddling young people with decades of debt and financial anxiety that many will never pay off.
“We all benefit from a well-educated society where higher education is open to everyone, not just those that can afford it.
“England already has some of the highest university fees in the world, but Sir Keir Starmer and his Labour colleagues seem happy to repeat Nick Clegg’s mistakes with a whole new generation of students - raising fees beyond anything the Tories and Lib Dems introduced.
“Scottish Labour must explain whether their MPs support this hike and where it leaves their tuition policy for Scotland. Anas Sarwar should not only condemn this decision, he should show some leadership by instructing Scottish Labour MPs to oppose it. Most importantly though, he must rule out any attempt to inflict tuition fees on students in Scotland.
“The Scottish Greens will always stand up for students and oppose attempts by Labour or any other party to reintroduce tuition fees in Scotland.”