Labour pledge on student grants welcomed by University union

University and College Union says business should support future graduates

Labour’s pledge to reverse Tory cuts to education grants for poor students has been welcomed by the University and College Union (UCU).

Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner said today the Labour Party was committed to restoring the Education Maintenance Allowance, scrapped by the Conservatives in 2010, and student maintenance grants, which the government is replacing with student loans.

She said paying for the grants through higher corporation tax would ‘help improve the education of over a million young people’.

Responding to the policy, the UCU said it was pleased there was ‘gathering consensus’ that business should help support potential graduates.

Sally Hunt, UCU General Secretary, said:

‘For too long university policy has been based on looking for new ways to squeeze more out of students, and big business has picked from a pool of talented graduates with little contribution.

By bringing corporation tax in line with other leading countries, businesses can finally start to pay their way.’

See: Theresa May’s grammar schools are a meritocratic confidence trick

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