Andy Burnham commits to replacing tuition fees with a graduate tax

Andy Burnham will tomorrow commit to replacing tuition fees with a graduate tax, as he unveils his five manifesto pledges.

One of the five pledges in his manifesto (you can see them all in full at the bottom of this page) is that he would replace tuition fees with a graduate tax and introduce a new application system to financially support young people who want to do an apprenticeship.

He will argue Labour will lift the “millstone of debt” weighing down young people as they start their career. He will also argue that Westminster has “discriminated against those wanting a technical education”. Burnham wants to remedy this with a UCAS-style system for apprenticeships and extending access to student finance to help people to move to take up an apprenticeship.

Prior to the election Ed Miliband pledged to reduce tuition fees from £9,000 to £6,000. However, there were a number of senior Labour MPs who said that they favoured a graduate tax. Under this system graduates only start paying off their university tuition when they begin earning in the form of an extra amount on top of their income tax.

Burnham says his manifesto offers ‘something for people in every postcode’.

Alongside pledging to introduce a graduate tax, in his manifesto Burnham also promises to scrap the youth rate National Minimum Wage and extend the National Living Wage to all ages. Currently if you are over 21 the NMW is £6.50 an hour (set to rise to £6.70 in October), £5.13 between 18-21 and £3.79 if you are under 18.

He’ll also reject ‘the growing market of free schools and academies’ and set out his commitment to comprehensive education by pledging to reinvigorate it with creating equality between the academic and technical routes.

The MP for Leigh’s campaign team have argued that these policy proposals are “underpinned by a commitment to a credible and detailed Labour plan for the economy”. Burnham has committed to a Beveridge-style commission to ensure  “generational fairness”.

This comes after Burnham said he would renationalise the railways. Although on clarification it seems that under his plans this would mean public sector operators would be able to bid on franchises when they expire. This is the same policy Labour had prior to the general election.

The Shadow Health Secretary has also repeated his promise to oppose the Welfare Bill as leader, despite having abstained on a vote on the Bill last month.

His five pledges are:

1. A future with hope for all young people – without the millstone of debt – through a modern comprehensive education system, replacing tuition fees with a new graduate tax, and creating new university-style support for young people seeking apprenticeships.

2. An affordable home for all to rent or own – by freeing councils to build new homes and introducing regulation of the private rented sector.

3. A secure, well-paid job for everyone – by abolishing the youth rate National Minimum Wage, establishing a true living wage for all ages, banning forced zero-hours contracts and unpaid internships.

4. Affordable and reliable transport for all – through a policy of progressive re-nationalisation of our railways and re-regulation of our buses.

5. Good care for all your needs from cradle to grave – and no one forced to sell their home – through a National Health and Care Service, bringing social care into the NHS