Student Loans

Debate between Helena Dollimore and Laura Trott

Wednesday 18th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Laura Trott]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We have a chance today to create a new deal for young people. I hope that some Government Members vote for it.

[Helena Dollimore (Hastings and Rye) (Lab/Co-op)]

I must declare an interest as someone in the first year group to have a plan 2 student loan under the broken system introduced by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats that we have today. Will the right hon. Member apologise to my generation for £9,000 tuition fees, for the broken system she created and for failing to introduce the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 that this Government have acted to introduce?

[Laura Trott]

If the hon. Lady thinks the system is broken, I invite her to vote for our motion.

Every metric for young people has got worse since this Government came in. It is crystal clear that for young people, as for the rest of the country, Labour is not working.

--- Later in debate ---

[Laura Trott]

No, the plan would massively widen choice. At the moment, the number of young people who want to start apprenticeships is much smaller than the number of apprenticeships available—we need to change that and the system. It is not good enough for the Government to table an amendment to our motion stating that they will make the system fairer and financially sustainable, when they are making it less fair and less financially sustainable.

At the moment, the system is punishing aspiration, and that is demoralising for young people. They leave university having done everything that was asked of them. They work hard and get a promotion, and then the interest on their loan goes up. They pay back far more than they ever borrowed. A typical plan 2 graduate needs to earn £66,000 a year just to keep pace with the interest. Young people should not be punished for doing the right thing.

[Helena Dollimore]

The right hon. Lady talks about making the system fair. Will she comment on what her party did in government? The Conservatives abolished the maintenance grant, which means that low-income students have bigger debts and have to pay back more. This Labour Government have acted to bring back the maintenance grants that her party took away.

[Laura Trott]

The Chancellor said that the system was fair and reasonable—what a joke! The Government do not recognise the scale of the problem, but we do, and we have come up with a plan to fix it. What is their plan? It does not exist.