Scotland’s system of free university tuition has been thrown back into the political spotlight amid new figures showing a growing gulf in student debt between Scotland and England.
According to new analysis from the House of Commons Library, students graduating in England are leaving university with tens of thousands of pounds more debt than their counterparts in Scotland.
The figures show that students in England now graduate with an average debt of £53,010, compared to £17,990 for students in Scotland, a difference of £35,020.
The research highlights how sharply the gap has widened over time, with average student debt in England only £70 higher than Scotland in 2000, compared to more than £35,000 today.
The analysis also warns that the divide is set to grow further following confirmed increases to tuition fees in England over the next three years.
Under current plans, annual tuition fees in England will rise from £9,250 in 2024 to £10,050 by 2027, with projections suggesting they could reach more than £10,800 by the end of the decade.
As a result, students starting university in England in the 2025–26 academic year and taking out the maximum loans are expected to graduate with debts of up to £76,400.
The figures have prompted a strong response from Stephen Flynn, who has argued that Scotland’s free tuition policy is only secure under the SNP.
Flynn said the contrast between Scotland and England reflected a clear divergence in political priorities, with Scottish students benefiting from policies introduced under successive SNP governments.
He also pointed to what he described as a long record of broken promises by the Labour Party on tuition fees.
In 1997, Labour pledged not to introduce tuition fees before doing so the following year, while further commitments against top up fees were later reversed in the early 2000s.
More recently, Keir Starmer pledged during the 2020 Labour leadership contest to abolish tuition fees, only for his government to oversee a series of annual increases.
Flynn contrasted this with the position in Scotland, where free tuition has been maintained under the SNP, now led by John Swinney.
“Free university tuition in Scotland is only safe with the SNP.
“As a result of John Swinney’s SNP government, students in Scotland are saving an average of £35,000 compared to students in England under Keir Starmer’s Labour government.
“The Labour Party’s long history of broken promises on hiking tuition fees shows you can’t trust a word they say.
“Every time they have got into government in Scotland, or at a UK level, they have broken their promises and increased fees.
“The only guaranteed way to avoid a £35,000 Labour Party student debt bomb in Scotland is to vote SNP on 7th May to protect free tuition.
“Families across Scotland and the UK have been hammered by the soaring cost of living under the Labour government.
“Energy bills are £500 higher than promised, food prices have gone through the roof, UK unemployment is at a five-year high, the UK economy has been downgraded and, as a result of Keir Starmer’s broken promises, students in England will start their working lives saddled with £76,400 of debt.
“It’s grotesque.
“Starmer promised to scrap fees but, instead, the Labour government increased them.
“That is a warning sign to voters ahead of the Scottish elections in May, given the chance, the Labour Party would introduce tuition fees in Scotland too.
“Voting SNP is the only way to protect free tuition, prioritise the cost of living, sack Keir Starmer and secure a fresh start with independence.”
