From Local Roots to Global Reach: A Liberal Vision for Universities

British universities are a world-leading export and an engine for innovation. They drive regional economies, host groundbreaking research, and provide life-changing opportunities.

But today, the sector is at a breaking point. Students are facing a cost-of-living nightmare, with 40% living on less than £100 a month after rent. Meanwhile, the Labour Government’s National Insurance hike and international student levy are draining nearly £700m from campuses annually.

The Liberal Democrats paid a heavy political price for making promises on tuition fees we couldn’t keep. We’ve learned from that.

That’s why we are not making unrealistic pledges. We are setting out a pragmatic, costed and achievable plan that would make a real difference to graduates now, while also fixing the system for the long term.

Today, our members passed our new policy to achieve that:
 

A Fairer Deal for Students and Graduates

We believe your background should never limit your ability to study. To make university life affordable again, we are calling for:

• Reintroducing Maintenance Grants: Reintroducing grants of £3,500 per year for the most disadvantaged students, ensuring they can graduate with £10,000 less debt.
   
• Cutting Graduate Repayments: Reversing Labour’s threshold freeze to immediately put hundreds of pounds back into the pockets of graduates. Under our plans, lower and middle earning graduates could save up to £14,000 over the lifetime of their loan.
   
• Debt Write-offs for Public Service: Writing off portions of student debt for those who commit 10 years of service in key public service roles.
   

• Ending "Moving the Goalposts": Establishing an independent watchdog to stop governments from making retrospective, unfair changes to loan terms.

   

Securing the Future of the Sector

Universities need stability to innovate. To protect the financial health of the sector and boost the UK’s research power, our policy includes:

• Reversing Damaging Tax Hikes: Scrapping the National Insurance rise and the international student levy that are currently draining university budgets.
   
• A "Unified Tertiary" Approach: Bridging the gap between Further Education and Higher Education so colleges and universities can share facilities and co-deliver courses.
   
• Doubling Degree Apprenticeships: Specifically in areas with skills shortages, with 50% of places reserved for students from low-income households.
   
• Regional Innovation Centres: Creating a national network of research hubs to ensure every region benefits from university-industry collaboration.

Driving Global Innovation

We want to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs. Our plan would reform visa rules to allow PhD students to found startups during their studies and quintuple "proof of concept" funding to £200 million to help turn academic research into successful British businesses.

This is a bold and deliverable plan to ease the cost-of-living pressure on graduates today, while building a system that is sustainable for universities and fair for the students who study in them.