Kingston MP Ed Davey has branded top-up fees a “real danger” to students, in an exclusive interview with RiverOnline last week.
Mr Davey, a Liberal Democrat, is concerned that students will be graduating saddled with debt and facing a very difficult job market. “We have got things completely wrong in this country”, he said. “In 1988, when I was at university, we marched through London complaining that the then Tory government wanted to get rid of student grants.”
This week, more than half of university Vice-Chancellors said they want students to pay at least £5,000 per year. The National Union of Students warned student debt would increase to £32,000 if the fees reach £7,000 per year.
At the Liberal Democrat’s spring conference earlier this month, Mr Davey and his party confirmed their policy against top-up fees. Although it is an expensive pledge, they have suggested cuts to be made elsewhere.
The MP said: “Labour wants to have ID cards - we think they are a waste of money. Labour wants to give parents two or three thousand pounds for newborn babies to be locked away until they are 18 to be spent on an 18th birthday party. By that age they would probably be able to use that money to pay for their first year at university, so why not just scrap tuition fees instead?”
Mr Davey is anxious that students going into less well paid professions may be tempted to go elsewhere, so that they may begin to clear their debt: “The danger of tuition fees is that it pushes graduates to go for the higher paid jobs, where they will not necessarily be able to use their talents successfully”, he said. Mr. Davey was also worried that students would never be able to afford to buy their own property due to huge debt, although house prices are on the decrease. To further help the student budget and keep costs down, Mr. Davey has also been campaigning to get Kingston and Surbiton stations re-zoned. He explained: “They are currently in Zone 6 but they should be in Zone 5. I have been trying to make clear that it is only fair for Kingston and Surbiton to be in Zone 5 so that we can reduce the fares that students face.” Mr. Davey also feels passionate about getting better student accommodation in the right place and aims to strengthen the link between the town and gown. He is a strong supporter of the Rose Theatre’s partnership with Kingston University and thinks it is a perfect starting point in closing the gap. Mr. Davey said that he likes to think he is involved in the types of issues that affect students such as the importance of climate change on the student generation. “I am the local MP working for students”, he said. “I would urge students that if they have any problems I am very keen to assist individual students, and if they want my opinion about what’s happening in Parliament, I have constituency surgeries two times a week.” To find out more about Ed Davey’s policies, e-mail him or come along to one of his constituency advice sessions, check out http://www.edwarddavey.co.uk/archive/
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