Lost youth

Analysis of the government’s latest announcement on tuition fees calls it a “giveaway to graduates”, while the universities and science minister says students should live more frugally.

It was all going so well. The youth vote isn’t exactly in the bag but Theresa May’s announcement at the beginning of the Tory party conference that tuition fees would be frozen was a step towards reassuring young people that the government is listening to their concerns, and yesterday the Institute for Fiscal Studies called plans, announced at the same time, to raise the salary level at which graduates must start paying back fees “a big (and expensive) giveaway to graduates”.

Then universities minister, Jo Johnson, told a fringe meeting that students could choose to live frugally. They could work to supplement their loan, save before beginning their course or just live modestly. Mrs May must be thinking the Kray twins would have done less to spoil her party conference party than the Johnson brothers.