Student Loans

Alistair Strathern Excerpts

Wednesday 18th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Simon Hoare]

No, I will not give way; one can be a useful idiot only so often in an afternoon. I say to the Minister: whether it is at the front of the queue, the back of the queue or the middle of the queue, this is an issue that cannot be put aside any longer.

[Alistair Strathern (Hitchin) (Lab)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way on that point?

[Simon Hoare]

I am just about to give up and I will not get an extra minute. I like the hon. Gentleman very much and in ordinary circumstances I would, but I will not.

We need some urgency on this matter, and I urge some cross-party working to make sure that all our constituents, whether urban or rural, and whether first, second, third or fourth-generation university students, get the very best deal and start in life that they can as they begin their working lives.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Shastri-Hurst]

If the hon. Member does not want to tackle the problem of the inadequacy and inequality between a high earner on £150,000 who will pay off their debt of around £46,000 over an 11-year period, and a lower or middle-income earner on £50,000 who will pay off their debt of around £80,000 over a much longer period of time, then I am afraid the public watching this debate will have serious questions about the Government’s resolve in tackling this issue.

[Alistair Strathern]

Will the hon. Member give way?

[Dr Shastri-Hurst]

I will make a little progress.

The changes that the Conservatives propose would not remove responsibility for the student or change the process by which graduates repay, but they would fundamentally restore a sense of fairness. This is not about numbers on a balance sheet; frankly, it is about a young person deciding whether it is worth taking the risk of going to university. It is about a graduate wondering why their debt grows despite doing everything right, and it is fundamentally about trust that if people work hard, play by the rules and invest in their future, the system will be fair in return.

We return to the timeless understanding that education is in the interests of us all, not just because of what it gives to an individual, but because of what it gives to society as a whole. I think of the words of Benjamin Franklin, who said:

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”