The UK Labour Government has announced a rise in Student Tuition Fees of 3.1% to £9,535 for England from April 2025. Scotland has no tuition fees for students. In this article we look back at the recent history of Tuition Fees and the shocking rise in Student Debt.

In the beginning:

Higher education tuition fees of £1,000 per year were first introduced by the UK Labour Government of Tony Blair in 1998. These fees were paid upfront by students at the start of the academic year.

In 2006 fees were raised to £3,000 and a new system of variable deferred fees and tuition fees loans was introduced.

In 2010 the Liberal Democrats made it a General Election pledge to abolish tuition fees should they get into Government. After the election they formed the UK Coalition Government with David Cameron’s Tories. The LibDems reneged on this pledge and in 2012 tuition fees were raised to £9,000 per year following an independent review of the student finance system by Lord Browne.

OECD figures have shown that average fee levels for new students in England from 2012 were likely to be the highest for public or state-dependent private institutions in the developed world. House of Commons Library

Scotland

These fees applied in Scotland too where the LibDems were in a Coalition Scottish Government (then called an Administration) with Labour from 1999 to 2007. The LibDems made scrapping tuition fees one of their conditions for joining the Coalition with Labour.

In 2000 tuition fees were scrapped in Scotland, however, they were replaced by a Graduate Endowment (GE). Students would pay back a portion of fees after graduating and earning above a repayment threshold. The GE fee of just over £2,000 was introduced by the Education (Graduate Endowment and Student Support) (Scotland) Act 2001 and applied from Autumn that year.

In 2007, the SNP led by Alex Salmond took over and formed a minority Government in Scotland. In 2008, the SNP Scottish Government managed to get  the Graduate Endowment Abolition Bill passed by just 67 votes to 61 in the Scottish Parliament on 28 February 2008. Voting to abolish the GE were SNP, LibDem and 1 Labour MSP. Conservatives and Labour MSPs voted to keep the GE. (A list of those voting can be found at the end of this article. The Bill became an Act on 4 April 2008.

In 2011 Alex Salmond, as First Minister of Scotland declared that “rocks would melt under the sun” before an SNP government introduced tuition fees, places were protected and a £7,000 minimum income for the poorest students was agreed representing an investment of £260 million by 2015.

Scottish students now pay no upfront fees nor an endowment after they graduate. Students from the rest of the UK still pay fees at Scottish universities. At present Scotland is the only country in the UK that does not charge tuition to its full-time degree students when they study at home. 

In the 2017 UK General Election the Labour Party manifesto included a commitment to abolish tuition fees and to restore maintenance grants. Sir Keir Starmer ditched Labour’s pledge on abolishing tuition fees in England in his manifesto. Not only has he continued with tuition fees but he has raised them.

The Rise in Student Debt

Across the whole of the UK student debt is shocking. One of the main contributors to this are Student Tuition Fees added to Student Loans.

Student loans in England are large by international standards. The latest OECD analysis found that the average loan in England was substantially higher than in any other country included in the analysis.

Student Debt England

 In 2023, students graduating from English universities will have incurred an average of £44,940 of student loan debt, compared with £35,780 in Wales, £24,500 in Northern Ireland, and around £15,430 in Scotland. Statista

Average student loan debt on entry to repayment in the United Kingdom from 1999/00 to 2022/23, by country

All universities charge tuition fees, but it is only in Scotland where Scottish students will have these paid by the Scottish Government. It is seen as an investment in the future, an investment in the individual. If you normally live in Scotland, you’ll apply to the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS). SAAS can cover your tuition – whether you choose to study in Scotland or elsewhere in the UK. Find out who you apply to if you normally live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Tuition fees by country for courses starting in 2024 to 2025 (UCAS)

Student’s home region	Studying in England	Studying in Scotland	Studying in Wales	Studying in Northern Ireland
England	Up to £9,250	Up to £9,250	Up to £9,250	Up to £9,250
Scotland	Up to £9,250	No fee	Up to £9,250	Up to £9,250
Wales	Up to £9,250	Up to £9,250	Up to £9,250	Up to £9,250
Northern Ireland	Up to £9,250	Up to £9,250	Up to £9,250	Up to £4,750
EU and other international*	Variable	Variable	Variable	Variable

* This will not apply to Irish nationals living in the UK and Ireland whose right to study and to access benefits and services will be preserved on a reciprocal basis for UK and Irish nationals under the Common Travel Area arrangement.

At some point in your life you have to engage with the fact that you are part of a society. Yeah the individual is the most important facet in society but unless every individual is the recipient of free health care, free education, decent affordable housing and a proper pension then only the rich and powerful will be individuals and the rest of us will be exploited by them. Billy Bragg

Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill – List of MSPs voting For and Against, 2008

Motion S3M-1367, in the name of Fiona Hyslop, as amended, on the Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill.

 For

Adam, Brian (Aberdeen North) (SNP)
Ahmad, Bashir (Glasgow) (SNP)
Allan, Alasdair (Western Isles) (SNP)
Brown, Keith (Ochil) (SNP)
Brown, Robert (Glasgow) (LD)
Campbell, Aileen (South of Scotland) (SNP)
Coffey, Willie (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)
Constance, Angela (Livingston) (SNP)
Crawford, Bruce (Stirling) (SNP)
Cunningham, Roseanna (Perth) (SNP)
Don, Nigel (North East Scotland) (SNP)
Doris, Bob (Glasgow) (SNP)
Ewing, Fergus (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP)
Fabiani, Linda (Central Scotland) (SNP)
Finnie, Ross (West of Scotland) (LD)
FitzPatrick, Joe (Dundee West) (SNP)
Gibson, Kenneth (Cunninghame North) (SNP)
Gibson, Rob (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
Grahame, Christine (South of Scotland) (SNP)
Harper, Robin (Lothians) (Green)
Harvie, Christopher (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP)
Harvie, Patrick (Glasgow) (Green)
Hepburn, Jamie (Central Scotland) (SNP)
Hume, Jim (South of Scotland) (LD)
Hyslop, Fiona (Lothians) (SNP)
Ingram, Adam (South of Scotland) (SNP)
Kidd, Bill (Glasgow) (SNP)
Lochhead, Richard (Moray) (SNP)
MacAskill, Kenny (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (SNP)
MacDonald, Margo (Lothians) (Ind)
Marwick, Tricia (Central Fife) (SNP)
Mather, Jim (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)
Matheson, Michael (Falkirk West) (SNP)
Maxwell, Stewart (West of Scotland) (SNP)
McArthur, Liam (Orkney) (LD)
McInnes, Alison (North East Scotland) (LD)
McKee, Ian (Lothians) (SNP)
McKelvie, Christina (Central Scotland) (SNP)
McMillan, Stuart (West of Scotland) (SNP)
Morgan, Alasdair (South of Scotland) (SNP)
Munro, John Farquhar (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD)
Neil, Alex (Central Scotland) (SNP)
O’Donnell, Hugh (Central Scotland) (LD)
Paterson, Gil (West of Scotland) (SNP)
Pringle, Mike (Edinburgh South) (LD)
Purvis, Jeremy (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD)
Robison, Shona (Dundee East) (SNP)
Rumbles, Mike (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD)
Russell, Michael (South of Scotland) (SNP)
Salmond, Alex (Gordon) (SNP)
Scott, Tavish (Shetland) (LD)
Smith, Elaine (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab)
Smith, Iain (North East Fife) (LD)
Smith, Margaret (Edinburgh West) (LD)
Somerville, Shirley-Anne (Lothians) (SNP)
Stephen, Nicol (Aberdeen South) (LD)
Stevenson, Stewart (Banff and Buchan) (SNP)
Stone, Jamie (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD)
Sturgeon, Nicola (Glasgow Govan) (SNP)
Swinney, John (North Tayside) (SNP)
Thompson, Dave (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
Tolson, Jim (Dunfermline West) (LD)
Watt, Maureen (North East Scotland) (SNP)
Welsh, Andrew (Angus) (SNP)
White, Sandra (Glasgow) (SNP)
Wilson, Bill (West of Scotland) (SNP)
Wilson, John (Central Scotland) (SNP)

Against

Aitken, Bill (Glasgow) (Con)
Alexander, Ms Wendy (Paisley North) (Lab)
Baillie, Jackie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Baker, Claire (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Baker, Richard (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Boyack, Sarah (Edinburgh Central) (Lab)
Brankin, Rhona (Midlothian) (Lab)
Brocklebank, Ted (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Brown, Gavin (Lothians) (Con)
Brownlee, Derek (South of Scotland) (Con)
Butler, Bill (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab)
Carlaw, Jackson (West of Scotland) (Con)
Chisholm, Malcolm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab)
Craigie, Cathie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab)
Curran, Margaret (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab)
Eadie, Helen (Dunfermline East) (Lab)
Ferguson, Patricia (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab)
Foulkes, George (Lothians) (Lab)
Fraser, Murdo (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Gillon, Karen (Clydesdale) (Lab)
Glen, Marlyn (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Godman, Trish (West Renfrewshire) (Lab)
Goldie, Annabel (West of Scotland) (Con)
Gordon, Charlie (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab)
Grant, Rhoda (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Gray, Iain (East Lothian) (Lab)
Henry, Hugh (Paisley South) (Lab)
Jamieson, Cathy (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab)
Johnstone, Alex (North East Scotland) (Con)
Kelly, James (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab)
Kerr, Andy (East Kilbride) (Lab)
Lamont, Johann (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab)
Lamont, John (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con)
Livingstone, Marilyn (Kirkcaldy) (Lab)
Macdonald, Lewis (Aberdeen Central) (Lab)
Macintosh, Ken (Eastwood) (Lab)
Martin, Paul (Glasgow Springburn) (Lab)
McAveety, Mr Frank (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab)
McCabe, Tom (Hamilton South) (Lab)
McConnell, Jack (Motherwell and Wishaw) (Lab)
McGrigor, Jamie (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
McLetchie, David (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con)
McMahon, Michael (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab)
McNeil, Duncan (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab)
McNeill, Pauline (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab)
McNulty, Des (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab)
Milne, Nanette (North East Scotland) (Con)
Mitchell, Margaret (Central Scotland) (Con)
Mulligan, Mary (Linlithgow) (Lab)
Murray, Elaine (Dumfries) (Lab)
Oldfather, Irene (Cunninghame South) (Lab)
Park, John (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Peacock, Peter (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Peattie, Cathy (Falkirk East) (Lab)
Scanlon, Mary (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Scott, John (Ayr) (Con)
Simpson, Dr Richard (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Smith, Elizabeth (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Stewart, David (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Whitefield, Karen (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab)
Whitton, David (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab)

The Presiding Officer: : The result of the division is: For 67, Against 61, Abstentions 0.

Fiona Grahame