There’s a progressive argument to be made for tuition fees – why won’t the government make it?

Ever since Labour won over young voters at the last election, the Conservatives have been trying to work out how to do the same. Tory MPs have scrambled around for ideas. Various suggestions have been mooted, ranging from a Tory Glastonbury and a Tory Momentum to lowering taxes for young voters, scrapping historic student debt and drastically reforming tuition fees.

With Jeremy Corbyn promising to abolish university fees, the debate surrounding higher education funding has become particularly toxic. Many younger voters feel that tuition fees are very unjust. What started as £1k a year has grown to £9,250 and the above-inflation interest rate only adds to the sense of unfairness.

It doesn’t help that few now bother to make the argument for tuition fees in response. It has become a struggle to find a Conservative politician willing to defend government policy. This was the case when Theresa May appeared on the Andrew Marr show earlier this month to announce a lacklustre ‘freeze’ on fees – and at the weekend, David Davis was reported to be urging the Treasury to scrap historic student debt in the budget.