Almost half of Brits believe the Government should write off some or all student debt as Martin Lewis calls out the Chancellors plans to freeze the Plan 2 repayment threshold
A recent poll has found that almost half of Brits would support the Government writing off some or all student debt.
YouGov found that 44% of the Brits believe the government should write off some or all student debt, including 55% of graduates. Among those who support writing off at least some debt, 36% back writing it all off.
Almost seven in ten Brits think the £9,000 a year tuition fee is “too high”, as are the interest rates which currently sit at 6%. On the flipside, 55% of Britons say it should be students, not the taxpayer, who should be funding universities.
It comes as Martin Lewis blasted the Chancellor’s decision to freeze the salary threshold for Plan 2 student loan repayments.
In the autumn budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the three-year freeze would start in April 2027, meaning the repayment trigger will be held at £29,385 instead of rising with inflation.
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Lewis said the decision to freeze the threshold as “not a moral thing” to do. He argues that the government is unfairly changing the terms of a contract that young people have already signed.
Lewis believes student loans are legally structured as contracts rather than a standard tax, despite the government treating them as the latter. He expressed concern that this move treats debt as a flexible levy that can be adjusted at the government’s whim.
Reeves said: “It is important that you don’t have to start paying back the student loan until you earn enough money and that is the point of the student loan system, that you get the loan, you get that great university education and you only pay it back if you afford, if you can afford to do so.
“Obviously after a period of time, that gets written off entirely. So if you are able to get a job that pays a good wage, you’ll pay that money back quicker but if you’re never able to repay, that loan will eventually be written off. I think that is a fair system.”
Lewis, who founded Money Saving Expert, has publicly urged the Chancellor to rethink the policy before it takes effect.
He said: “I do not think it is a moral thing for you to do to be freezing the repayment threshold in this way … You didn’t say the terms were variable. This isn’t right. Please have a rethink.”
Lewis added that he believes the repayment plan acts as a contract for students, and the government was “unilaterally changing the terms.”
“You tell companies they can’t do that – you shouldn’t do it either … It would not be allowed for any commercial lender, it would go against all forms of consumer law.”
