Cutting the student debt in half
Having read this poll with a great deal of interest, I am very encouraged to see the number of students - almost two thirds - saying they are definitely going to vote. Perhaps that's not surprising as students have greater reason to feel let down by this government than almost anyone else, and so would naturally want to make their anger known. I am also encouraged to see that the Conservative Party has almost trebled its share of the vote since the 2001, when it came third in the student vote.
However, it is not surprising that Labour has dropped from top to third in this poll. In 1997, Mr Blair said "Labour has no plans to introduce tuition fess for higher education" and then it did; in 2001, the Labour manifesto said that "We have no plans to introduce top up fees and have legislated against this," but now it has. It is not surprising that trust in politicians is so low among students.
And already we know (from documents released under the Freedom of Information Act from the Department for Education) that Labour's true wish was for top-up fees at £5,000 a year. The choice at this election is clear. There can only be two outcomes. Oxford students can either reward Mr Blair for eight years of broken promises and vote for another five more years of talk and broken promises.
Or they can vote Conservative, for a party that has taken a stand on the issues that matter to students and would scrap tuition fees and top up fees. Only a Conservative government will result in the scrapping of fees. I also believe that as we move closer to the election, even more students will decide to vote Conservative, as they realise that it's only the Party in government that actually has the power to scrap fees.
We have put forward a policy that is better for students and better for the Universities as well. Scrapping fees will result in the average student debt being almost halved, and we will provide extra financial support to students by ending means-testing loans and extending the among that can be borrowed to reduced the reliance on expensive credit cards and overdrafts. Conservatives would also provide grants for the less well off.
And although interest rates on loans will rise slightly, students will still be significantly better off as the level of total debt will be half the level it would be under Labour's top-up fees. Our approach will cost students less and will provide additional funding to Universities three years earlier than under Labour's plans. In addition, our approach will provide an annual income boost of £900 million for universities and spend an extra £3 billion on modernising teaching facilities.
Conservatives believe our university system should be based on merit, not the ability to pay. But we're not just a onepolicy Party for students. We're committed to improving safety for young people, as we recognise that young people are more likely to be victims of crime than anyone else and so their fear of crime is greater too. That's why we would pout 5,000 more police on the beat each and every year - 40,000 over eight years - to make sure that young people are safe when they go out.
It is also why the Conservative Party held a summit in the Houses of Parliament to address young people as victims of crime - the first Party ever to do so. And we need Conservative economic policies to create the job opportunities that graduates deserve after studying so hard for their degrees. Only Conservative policies of tackling red tape and tax will create the sort of economy which provides the right jobs for graduates. So, let's be clear - there is a clear choice at this election.
Students can either vote for more tuition fees by voting for Labour or they can vote Conservative for the abolition the top-up fees and tuition fees, for safer communities and for better long-term job prospects.
28th Apr 2005