Oxford East MP Andrew Smith has pledged to oppose any increase in student fees. 

Andrew signed a National Union of Students pledge to vote against any such proposed legislation in the next Parliament as the government begins a review of higher education funding.  

Andrew said: "It would be wrong to burden students with still more debt, or to make it easier for money to buy education.  Everyone who  has the ability should  have a right to go to university regardless of how poor or rich they are."   

University top-up tuition fees are currently capped at £3,000 a year, after being introduced in 2004.  However, there have been calls to raise this figure. 

Andrew Smith signed the pledge at the NUS event in Westminster last Wednesday, when hundreds of students came to Parliament to argue for a fair alternative to fees which will not stop poorer students getting degrees.   

It reads: “We will vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament, and we will put pressure on the government to introduce a fairer alternative to variable top-up fees.”   

Oxford University student Hannah Cusworth, who was at the signing, said: "I couldn't have gone to university if fees were much higher than they are now.  I'm proud to have an MP like Andrew who will stand up for students, and realise the importance of university education being open to everyone, regardless of how rich or poor they are.  If fees are raised many students from backgrounds like mine will question whether it's worth getting into that much debt to get a degree.”       

A recent YouGov poll revealed that only 12% of the public think the review should even consider increasing fees, while a majority believes that it should look at alternatives to fees.   

NUS President Wes Streeting said: “I am delighted that Andrew has stood up for students and young people in Oxford by signing this pledge. He has demonstrated his determination to give every young person in Oxford a fair chance to go to university. 

“NUS believes that a university education should be free at the point of use, with graduates giving back to the system according to how much they earn. This would give universities double the amount of funding they currently receive, while allowing the children of poorer families to go to university without the fear of debt. It would also prevent the emergence of a market in higher education, where only the rich could afford to attend our most prestigious universities.”

Photo: NUS.  Picturing, (L-R): Wes Streeting, President of the NUS; Andrew Smith MP; Stefan Baskerville, President of Oxford University Student Union.  (www.nus.org.uk)