Diane speaks in debate on Higher Education Fees
Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington) (Lab): Does my right hon. Friend agree that those who argue that students need not be frightened of £9,000 a year fees, because they will not be paying up front, entirely fail to recognise that for someone who comes from an immediate family in which no one has ever been to university, or maybe even stayed at school past 16, the prospect of debts of £50,000, or possibly £100,000 if they want to be a doctor, must be off-putting? Coalition Members have to put themselves in the position of those ordinary families.
Mr Lammy: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We should reflect that fees of £9,000 a year could total up to debt of between £40,000 and £50,000 on completion of a university course. That is substantially more than the annual incomes of many of our constituents.
See full debate here
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm101209/debtext/101209-0003.htm#10120946002933
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