Student loans system "a mess" that is "deeply unfair"

Clegg says student loan system “a mess” that is “deeply unfair” but pins blame on others

Former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has told the BBC that the student loans system is “a mess” and that graduates:

quite rightly feel very sore.

However, he failed to take any personal responsibility given he was a pivotal member of the coalition government that were responsible for tripling annual tuition fees to £9,000.

Instead, in true Western politician fashion, Clegg is pointing the finger at policies that came after his involvement. Pretty conveniently, he blamed the changes which froze the repayment threshold at £29,385 which he deems “deeply unfair”.

We agree, they are completely unfair, but so too was increasing the costs of tuition saddling graduates with impossible levels of debt which was only ever going to careen out of control. After all, our governments have always prioritised profits over people.

University tuition fees system is a 'mess', says Clegg https://t.co/8IOnLJYRmh

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) March 11, 2026

Student loans — rather than pass blame, take responsibility and work to fix it

Clegg’s intervention can only be seen as a virtue signal attempt to gain public favour. After all, the man ran on a campaign of abolishing tuition fees, yet once in power was more than happy to see students across the UK lumbered with back-breaking debt. However, his criticisms extend to Plan 2 repayment schemes, not the fact that the state made university education increasingly a privilege for the rich.

Plan 2 repayments currently add an extra 9% tax on affected students, disproportionately hurting younger working people. Funny how an extra 9% tax on young people is fine to the government, but any extra tax on the super-rich would be unforgivable.

In less than 2 minutes, @OliDugmore explains how the social contract has broken in Britain for the under-45s

The only thing missing from his list here is the cost of childcare, which, when added to everything else and even with new support, is breaking young families https://t.co/69r5wkBzVP

— Vicky Spratt (@Victoria_Spratt) January 29, 2026

A £9k tuition fee graduate excels in life and is on a salary of £100-125k. They start a family. Their marginal tax rate is… 85%

What social contract? https://t.co/mCJIgbY0SA

— Oli Dugmore (@OliDugmore) January 29, 2026

Education is an investment in the UK economy, as it results in a stronger, more skilled workforce that is likely to bring in higher salaries. Instead, successive governments have made it clear that they want not only the extra tax revenue from these students through PAYE, but also a handsome return from their education.

We wrote about Martin Lewis’ recent comments on the futile student loan system and pointless policies pushed by the Conservatives:

The Conservatives are currently pushing forward with a policy they argue will begin to address the student loans crisis crippling adults across the country. Party leader Kemi Badenoch insists that reducing the amount paid by plan 2 students is the way to do it. However, Martin Lewis slammed Badenoch for this selective and poorly thought-through policy on Good Morning Britain (GMB) yesterday morning.

Last night, historian Sir Anthony Seldon told Victoria Derbyshire that Lewis had his full support. Going further, Seldon argued all student debt should be wiped, rejecting the idea that any course is a “dead end” for young people. Finally, the respected historian urged the government to bring in the ‘Money Saving Expert’ to fix the system within a record four weeks.

Martin Lewis is right freezing the student loan threshold is a moral failure. Graduates face a £24,500 stealth tax, while the Sovereign Grant soars 53% (£132.1m).
Kate and William inherit billions tax-free while young people struggle with soaring rent and food prices. #Newsnight pic.twitter.com/71mrMgpEDe

— Candice Holmes (@hol40900) January 29, 2026

£99987 and counting: graduates trapped by ballooning student loans.

Govt froze repayment threshold. By 2030, likely to be at minimum wage.

At the margin graduates pay 20% income tax + 8%NIC +9% repayment. Insane.

Loan keeps increasing, if not repaid.https://t.co/Cm9kK6uobZ

— Prem Sikka (@premnsikka) February 7, 2026

This policy only goes to penalise ordinary people trying to improve their access to opportunities through university education. Rich students don’t need student loans. So, as the following posts highlight, ordinary people face a far greater tax burden than our richer counterparts:

.@garyseconomics: "If we do not deal with this crisis of worsening inequality, it will get worse and worse and worse.. we currently have a tax system which taxes ordinary working people 30-50% while billionaires like the Duke of Westminster inherit £10 billion & pay nothing" #GMB pic.twitter.com/WHI5ak22wy

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) July 15, 2025

The point here is the interest is so high it traps you into this debt for decades.

You can therefore have two employees, doing the same job, same degree, same salary. But the one with richer parents takes home 9% more every month because they don't have a student loan.

— Shehab Khan ITV (@ShehabKhan) January 14, 2026

Featured image via UAL

Tags: UK universities

Comments 3

jeff3 says:

3 months ago

It’s all of them education should be free until their three years in uni are up but our elitist MPs have taking it away

D71 says:

3 months ago

Your neoliberal framing undermines your central point. To focus on the salary consequdnces of education, as an investment, is really telling. This makes the whole thing sound like an economic argument, when it is political to the core (as is “the economy”, obviously). Education is good in and of itself, and a commitment by parents to their children and so on. For parents to charge their children for this is truly sick, but this perspective is never voiced, debts like bring educated, can only ever be repaid to those who come after us, to pay backwards to those who have already received their gift of education is what has created this problem – young people are expected to return the favour to their parents, and to those who come next, an unjust expectation. Also, education cannot change the distribution of work in any society – there are millions of shit, low paid jobs, and education won’t change that. You’ve also fallen for a fallacy – because “anyone can” escape poverty through education, therefore “everyone can”. This is not true – there will never be well-paid graduate positions for all, and I find it repulsive that pay is determined by ability ir qualification, as it places many in a position from which they can never escape and justifies that shit life because they were just not economically viable. Perhaps they were just too thick, eh? You can’t argue your way out of a system by adopting its perspective. Ability, education, skill, etc. are not genuine justifications for pay stratification, they’re just used to do that. Oh, and finally, where were all the parents marching on parlianent when their children were being shafted by the coalition and beyond? I’d say to all young people now, if you want to know who fucked you over, look no further than your parents and grandparents who did absolutely nothing to stop this happening, and maybe even fucking voted for it, because spite trumps all.

- David Littlewood says:
  
  3 months ago
  
  I very much take your main points. My generation had free tertiary education, and as a society, we have allowed that benefit to be taken away from our children. I think that many parents, perhaps especially those with first time uni offspring, failed to understand fully what was happening, and of course these are the families least likely to be able to support their kids either at uni or afterwards. There is also the me,me,me factor encouraged from the time of Thatcher onwards, which tends to leave more kids cut adrift once they leave home. Whatever the causes and consequences, what we have is a system that not only penalises graduates, but works to undermine our whole national economy and society, but our clueless and corrupt political class completely fails to respond as it should.