SIR Keir Starmer is poised for a 16th U-turn after pledging to make student loans “fairer”.
The PM said he is looking at ways to end the “scam” of rip-off loans that have left millions of grads in crippling debt.
Challenged at PMQs, Sir Keir said: “We will look at ways to make it fairer, and we will do other things in the economy to help students.”
The PM is under mounting pressure to tackle the student debt scandal — felt most sharply by those who studied between 2012 and 2023.
Under controversial Plan 2 loans, those earning at least £28,470 must repay nine per cent of their income above that level.
Critics have branded it an unfair tax on aspiration.
At PMQs, Kemi Badenoch piled pressure on the PM over an issue that is fast becoming a key election battleground.
She said: “Before the Prime Minister and I became MPs, parties of every colour increased the cost of going to university.
“The system is now at breaking point for graduates.
“I believe that student loans have become a debt trap. It is time for all of us to do something about it.”
One measure Chancellor Rachel Reeves could take is switching loan interest from a Retail Prices Index measure of inflation to the more widely used Consumer Price Index.
The Tories have vowed to take this step, which would lower the amount of interest owed.
The Government came under particular fire after freezing the threshold at which graduates start repaying their student loan at £29,385 for three years in the Budget.
The move will force millions of graduates to hand over more of their salary in repayments.
Meanwhile, those who graduated between 2012 and July 2023 are paying an average of 10% of their salary a year in loan charges, with interest of up to 6.2%.
