Let higher-rate tax-payers pick up the bill for student loans

GOVERNMENT, with its wafer thin authority to rule, and this only with DUP support, is going to have to do some rethinking on many issues as clearly demonstrated over the Northern Ireland abortion U-turn.

A policy likely to be challenged by some back-benchers is the question of student loans.

The present arrangements leave students in debt to the tune of £30,000-plus at the end of courses, much more for those doing extended degrees.

Now I accept that fees have to be paid, but I believe that this should be done, as in the past, by the tax-payer, but with the difference that the imposition should be on higher tax-payers.

The theory is that those with university degrees tend to earn much more than the rest of us, and therefore student fees should be recovered by increasing higher tax rates up to 50p and by even more for very high earners.

I believe that it is wrong to send graduates off on their careers saddled with a huge debt, especially as most sensible families try to instil in their children the virtues of thrift, and not getting into debt.

On the other hand, the gap between the poor and the rich has widened over the last decade by a considerable margin, and there is a strong case for extracting additional revenue from those who have been more fortunate than most.

For additional revenue, the Government could scrap such ventures as HS2.

If completed, it will become one of the biggest white elephants in history. Now Angela Rayner, Labour’s shadow education secretary, is suggesting that Labour would like to wipe out the whole debt incurred by students so far, some £100 million at present.

In my view, that is not very likely. But statements of this nature are bound to affect the judgment of students when considering where to put their “x” on the ballot paper.

However, the Prime Minister should move on this matter before being forced to do so by her back benchers, or even ministers, let alone opinion polls. Russell Luckock is chairman of Birmingham pressings firm AE Harris