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Sir Keir Starmer is poised to increase tuition fees for the first time in eight years, according to reports.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson is expected to announce this afternoon that fees will rise in line with the Retail Price Index inflation from September 2025, The Telegraph reported.
Matching university tuition fees to the current rate of inflation at 2.7 per cent means they would increase to around £9,500. Fees have been frozen at £9,250 since 2017.
It comes after Kemi Badenoch named the first members of her new shadow cabinet, with close ally Laura Trott to step in as shadow education secretary.
Neil O’Brien, who supported Robert Jenrick during the leadership contest, has been named shadow minister for education.
The announcements came after a speech to CCHQ staff on Monday, in which Ms Badenoch reportedly insisted that her party can turn their fortunes around in one political term.
The party must first focus on principles such as free speech and personal responsibility before setting out policy, she added.
PM: Butler was ‘quite right’ to delete repost about Kemi Badenoch
Sir Keir Starmer has said a Labour MP was “quite right” to delete a repost of social media comments about new Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch.
Dawn Butler appeared to share a tweet describing Ms Badenoch as a “member of white supremacy’s black collaborator class”.
The tweet by Nigerian-British author Nels Abbey also described “Badenochism” as “white supremacy in blackface”. Ms Butler deleted the retweet shortly after sharing it.
At the Interpol general assembly in Glasgow, the prime minister said: “She shouldn’t have said what she did and she has deleted it and quite right too.”
Why is the government planning to raise tuition fees?
The decision to raise tuition fees would likely be an unpopular one among the electorate.
But many universities say they are facing financial crisis. This is because government grants and fees have not kept pace with rising costs, according to Universities UK (UUK), which represents more than 140 institutions.
In September, UUK president Dame Sally Mapstone told the BBC’s Today programme: “What we’re looking for from the new Government is the opportunity for a reset, and the opportunity to look right across the funding arrangements for fees and with students.
“The major problem with university finance is that for the past eight to nine years, direct government grants and fees haven’t kept up with the cost of teaching and with inflation, so more and more institutions are facing a budget deficit overall,” Prof Mapstone, who is also the vice-chancellor of St Andrews’ University, added.
The government has not yet confirmed the plans, so have not outlined their reasoning.
Full report: Sir Keir Starmer set to increase university tuition fees for first time in eight years
University tuition fees will increase for the first time in eight years, The Independent understands, as part of a major overhaul of the higher education system.
Fees, which have been frozen at £9,250 since 2017, are expected to rise in line with the Retail Price Index inflation from September 2025. Matching them to the current rate of inflation at 2.7 per cent would mean they increase to around £9,500.
It comes amid growing concern over the state of the education sector, with many universities facing financial crisis. As many as 40 per cent of English universities are expecteed to fall into a budget deficit this year.
The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:
Pictured: Kemi Badenoch meets and greets CCHQ staffers
Watch: Home secretary confirms £75m to tackle people smuggling is new funding from Budget
The home secretary told BBC Breakfast: “It’s part of the Budget settlement. It’s in addition to the £75 million we’d already talked about, which is only just starting to be invested now.”
The further amount doubles the border command’s funding to £150 million over two years.
The money will be used to fund high-tech surveillance equipment and 100 specialist investigators who will target criminals engaged in people smuggling.
Keir Starmer poised to increase tuition fees to first time in eight years
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to increase university tuition fees for the first time in eight years.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson is expected to confirm the plans this afternoon, which will see fees rise in line with the Retail Price Index inflation from September 2025, The Telegraph reported.
University tuition fees have been frozen at £9,250 since 2017. Matching them to the current rate of inflation at 2.7 per cent would mean they increase to around £9,500.
The Department for Education declined to comment.
Small boat smugglers to be fast-tracked through courts like rioters
The government is preparing to fast track people people smugglers through the courts in the same way as those who participated in the summer riots.
As part of a £150m package of measures to tackle the small boat crisis announced on Monday, the prime minister will order the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to speed up charges for people smugglers.
The claim of government intervention playing a role in the swift justice which faced rioters was criticised last month by the head of the judiciary, with lady chief justice Baroness Carr saying: “Suggestions that the listing of riot cases speedily in the criminal courts was a consequence of government action or pressure was a false constitutional narrative.”
The listing of court cases was “a judicial function – it cannot be otherwise”.
Badenoch makes first major frontbench appointment
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke has more information about the first Tory shadow cabinet appointments:
Kemi Badenoch has made two appointments to the Shadow Department for Education, ahead of Education Questions in the House of Commons this afternoon.
Laura Trott – who served as the the chief secretary to the Treasury in Rishi Sunak’s government – has been appointed shadow education secretary, Ms Badenoch’s first major appointment to the shadow frontbench. She was a prominent Badenoch-backer during the leadership contest.
Meanwhile, Neil O’Brien has been appointed as shadow minister for education. While he previously backed Ms Badenoch in 2022, he lent his support to rival Robert Jenrick during this year’s contest.
No 10 refuses to be drawn on targets for small boat crossings
Downing Street insisted the government wants to see small boat crossing numbers falling, but would not reveal if ministers have a target.
Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson insisted the government is “going to make progress as rapidly as is possible” on migrant crossings, pointing to its record of 9,400 returns recorded since Labour took power.
But he would not be drawn into revealing if the government has a target for when crossings will start to reduce, telling reporters: “I am not going to set out new targets here today. You have got the manifesto commitment, you have got the prime minister’s words.
“Clearly the government’s ambition is to reduce small boats crossings and that is why we are putting significant resource focus into this crisis.”
Asked if the government would be satisfied were numbers making the crossing to remain the same next year, he replied: “No, the government wants to do everything it can to reduce small boats crossings.
“It inherited a situation where small boats crossings before the election were up 18 per cent on the same period from the year before. That is not an acceptable position and that is a reflection of the system in chaos, and that is why the government is focused on putting in place the practical steps that will bring small boats crossings down.”
Kemi Badenoch announces first shadow cabinet appointments
The first members of Kemi Badenoch’s new shadow cabinet have been named.
Laura Trott has been appointed shadow education secretary and Neil O’Brien has been appointed shadow education minister in Kemi Badenoch‘s opposition team, it is understood.
Both will be on the opposition front bench for education oral questions in the Commons on Monday afternoon.
