Labour pledge to scrap tuition fees ‘robs Peter to pay Paul’, says Greening
Jeremy Corbyn says £9bn plans are fully funded and will give everyone a chance to go to university
LABOUR’S tuition fee pledge will cost the country billions of pounds in extra spending, the Conservatives have claimed, as Jeremy Corbyn was accused of announcing the policy to “buy” votes last night.
Justine Greening, the Education Secretary, accused Labour of “robbing Peter to pay Paul” by making the pledge to give students free university education from this year without fully funding it, on the final day voters can register for a ballot.
The decision would cost hard-working people through extra tax, she said.
A Conservative source added: “Mr Corbyn is willing to say whatever it takes to try and buy votes, no matter how much it costs ordinary working families.”
Mr Corbyn used the launch of his cultural manifesto in Hull yesterday to appeal to young people to register to vote ahead of the midnight deadline as he made the promise. He also pledged to launch a £1billion cultural fund to ensure everyone can reach their creative and artistic potential.
He said fees would be “written off” for students starting university in England this year in an extension of the policy, previously announced in Labour’s manifesto, to scrap fees altogether.
But Ms Greening warned the plan would cost billions of pounds and said Labour has not set out how it would be funded. She said: “Corbyn has promised that tuition fees will be abolished this year but he hasn’t got the money to pay for it. That would mean he’d rack up more debt or raid the higher education budget.
“As ever Corbyn’s figures don’t add up and his shadow cabinet can’t explain where the money would come from. They are making unfunded pledges knowing they can’t deliver them without hurting those most in need.”
Mr Corbyn has estimated the plans would cost about £9billion a year, but the Conservatives warned that bringing forward the policy to this financial year would not give Labour time to increase corporation tax, the method it says will cover the cost.
Yesterday Mr Corbyn said: “Tuition fees will be scrapped and then we will backdate it. It’s not a black hole, it’s fully funded, and you will see that from the statements we have put out.
“We are giving a chance to everybody in every part of the country to go to university. The higher the fees, the less applications there are from poorer families in working-class communities.”
The Tories said more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are going to university than ever before.