Even though the Labour party has refused to say whether abolishing university tuition fees will be in its manifesto or not, footage has emerged of shadow chancellor John McDonnell saying the education policy “means scrapping tuition fees once and for all”.
Speaking at a rally in Mansfield in April, McDonnell said: “We believe, we’ve always believed as a movement, that education is a gift from one generation to another, it’s not a commodity to be bought and sold.”
He added: “That means ending the cuts in the schools at primary and second level, that means free childcare, it means free skills training whenever you need it throughout life.
“And yes, it means scrapping tuition fees once and for all, so we don’t burden our kids with debt in the future.”
When asked in an interview on BBC Radio 4′s Today programme about the party’s plans for tuition fees, shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said she “didn’t want to give too much of the manifesto away”. However, she did drop some major hints by saying voters should “watch this space” regarding fees.
For many young people, the idea of not being saddled with a whole lot of debt is pretty appealing.
Now we know Labour will scrap tuition fees! Another reason for students to give Labour their full support! ?? #ForTheMany
— Christopher Davis (@Chris_Davis1998) May 10, 2017
Hey young people and parents, Labour scrapping tuition fees is A REALLY GOOD THING. You should probably vote for that.
— Luke Morton (@luke_morton) May 10, 2017
loved hearing Labour pledge to axe university tuition fees. Fantastic news for parents of all our bright, aspirational working class kids…
— The Spezial One (@OllyverTweet) May 10, 2017
However, some just aren’t sure that it’s a feasible plan and more of a pipe dream (although it’s worth reiterating that the move hasn’t yet been officially confirmed by Labour).
Bold /risky move for labour to announce they are totally scrapping tuition fees, maybe saying they would reduce them would b more realistic
— may (@mysteryofmay) May 10, 2017
where do labour think they'll get the money from to allow them to scrap tuition fees/childcare fees?
— JackBuckley (@_BuckleyJack_) May 10, 2017
LABOUR ARE GOING TO SCRAP TUITION FEES ?????????????????????????????? Pull the other one, Jez
— NJ (@jones__niall) May 10, 2017
And then there were those who got really quite sarcastic about it all.
Labour will scrap tuition fees? LMAO and I will grow a beard within an hour
— Hizzer (@hizzerrmzn) May 10, 2017
#Labour pledge to scrap tuition fees. Other pledges they've made include turning the moon into a giant disco ball. #GE2017
— Alex Humphries (@Alex_Humphries) May 10, 2017
"So Mr Corbyn, how will you pay for the proposed scrapping of university tuition fees?" #Labour #GE2017 pic.twitter.com/1vIeIMnicv
— Rob M ? (@robby9012) May 10, 2017
Spare a thought for graduates and current students, whose debt will remain intact regardless of what Labour decides.
If labour want to scrap tuition fees, can they also refund me for the past 3 years?
— Louis Bannister (@LouisBannister) May 10, 2017
Perfectly fine for Labour to claim they'll scrap tuition fees, but what about us who are mid-way through a degree? Gonna scrap my debt too?
— Nick Hicken (@NDH217) May 10, 2017
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn revealed he is carrying “some stuff in my pocket” on university tuition fees but said the plans would be revealed in the party’s manifesto next week, so any confirmation of these rumours will have to wait until then.
