The case for reform
The student finance system is broken
Graduates are paying for a system that was sold as a loan but often behaves like an extra tax on work, ambition and getting ahead.
What went wrong?
A whole generation of graduates is being charged far more than they borrowed. For many middle-earning graduates, monthly deductions do not even cover monthly interest, so the balance keeps growing.
Plan 2 graduates are among the worst affected. This is the student finance regime for people who started university in England or Wales between 2012 and 2023. Many will make repayments for thirty years and still never clear the balance.
This is not how a normal loan works
For many graduates, it operates more like an extra tax on aspiration: 9% of earnings above the repayment threshold, on top of income tax and National Insurance.
See how this works in practice →Why this matters
The problem is not just personal unfairness. It affects work incentives, risk-taking, home ownership and growth.
The balance can grow while people repay
Many graduates see deductions from their pay while interest continues to add more to the balance than repayments take away.
The rules have changed after people signed up
Students took on debt under one set of assumptions, only to see thresholds, terms and repayment rules altered later.
Current students face a forty-year shadow tax
Plan 5 reduced interest but stretched the repayment period. A student starting at eighteen could still be repaying into their late fifties.
It weakens the reward for extra work
At exactly the income levels where the country needs people to push on, the student finance system reduces the reward from promotion, overtime and ambition.
What should change?
A fairer system should be built around clear principles
Set interest at a reasonable level
Balances should not grow faster than repayments for ordinary earners.
Stop interest while students are still studying
People should not begin working life with years of interest already added.
Bring the write-off period back to thirty years
Current students should not face forty years of repayments.
Replace cliff edges with stepped repayments
The system should not punish middle earners for moving forward.
Share the cost fairly
Higher education benefits graduates and the wider country.
End retrospective rule changes
No government should be able to change the deal after students have signed up.
If you think the system needs reform, add your name.
Sign the petition for fair fees and a fair future.