General election

Quoted from barralad

I benefitted from a totally free education...why shouldn't they?

And, lest we forget, most of the MPs who voted to saddle kids with tens of thousands of pounds of debt if they want to go to University also received free education themselves.

The right-wing claim that abolition of university fees is some kind of a unaffordable bribe is pitiful - especially when you consider how many other European countries manage to offer free (or practically free) further education themselves.

I think the breakthrough might be occurring now because the middle class is now being affected by austerity and unaffordable housing (and the loss of granny's nest egg through the dementia tax).

Quoted from grimsby pete

I am sure the free tuition fees got a few to get out of bed and vote for the first time Ian

We had the chance of free university education, maybe you do not want it for your kids or grandkids?Most of Europe still do, we are supposedly one of the richest countries in the world and we can't afford it? We can't afford to pay our nurses and Teachers a decent wage? You sound selfish greedy and bitter exactly the type the Tory party are reaching out to.
Yes the young have had enough austerity, there is money for tax breaks for the rich and cuts in Corporation Tax. What sort of country are we if we only look after the greedy?

"I think if this leads to conflict in Northern Ireland the Tories will feel a deep regret, that they can't sell them weapons." Frankie Boyle.

I see May is rearranging the deckchairs, Gove FFS, minister of environment who doesn't believe in climate change, is it a joke?

'History repeats itself. The first time as tragedy the second as farce.'

Quoted from barralad

Don't doubt it Pete although the assumption that they needed that to get them out of bed is a sweeping generalisation that is unfair in the extreme. I benefitted from a totally free education...why shouldn't they?

I was going by the few that we put up in the 80's Ian,

My wife got roped into putting students up by a friend of hers that found accommodation for students attending at Grimsby,

We had about 5 not altogether but they were all grand lads apart from one that I had to chuck out,

BUT

They all had a problem getting out of bed  

As for free education  I agree it should be available to the young , my granddaughter will be paying off her debt for years yet.

Should a Labour government ever get to power and implement the free further education in the manifesto, don't be surprised if there is some sort of an arrangement worked to cancel out previous student debt.

QE to buy up the loan debts, perhaps? Would provide a good boost to the economy in the event of a recession as millions of former students would suddenly have a lot more money in their pockets.

Quoted from Maringer

Should a Labour government ever get to power and implement the free further education in the manifesto, don't be surprised if there is some sort of an arrangement worked to cancel out previous student debt.

QE to buy up the loan debts, perhaps? Would provide a good boost to the economy in the event of a recession as millions of former students would suddenly have a lot more money in their pockets.

Yes, but they would probably need wheelbarrows to carry that new money around.

No, they wouldn't. They didn't need any wheelbarrows for the £453 billion of QE created to stop the banks from collapsing and support the economy, because it never existed in paper form. Created with the addition of a number on a spreadsheet - Magic Money Tree-tastic.

Student loan book, though substantial, represents a fraction of the amount of the money created by QE to prop up the banks, and the people who have done best from this money creation are the already wealthy.

It would be nice if the next time QE is required (probably during the Brexit recession), some of it instead goes to those with these loans who only have the debt because they were unlucky enough to be born at a different time to those who didn't have to pay university fees.