Topics covered on this page:

• Student finance
• Local apprenticeships

Heading

Last updated February 2026

There has been some considerable debate over the last month about the student finance system - whether or not it's fair, and what can be done to change it. Some of you may recall that, a few years back, I was Shadow Minister for Higher Education, so I know the ins and outs of the current system better than most.

The student finance system we have was inherited from the previous Government, including Plan 2 loans (for students who started their courses before 2023) which is what has caused controversy. This is the system was introduced at the point when the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats trebled tuition fees back in 2012. To be upfront about my views, I dislike this system - I have seen clearly that it doesn't work for students, universities or the taxpayer.

Any system of student finance, I believe, should be progressive - and yet the current setup certainly isn't. I remember, during my time as the Shadow Minister, that we carried out research into student loan repayments, and who benefited and lost out as a result of how the system was structured on account of factors such as gender, race and occupation. This came up with some bizarre results - the average woman working in nursing, for example, was paying proportionately more than the average man working in the City.

However, the longer I spent as Shadow Minster, a post I held between 2021 and 2024, the more it became abundantly clear that there are no easy solutions to this issue. The Government, you may be surprised to learn, subsidises the student finance system by around £4.5 billion a year, getting on for 5% of the entire education budget - this includes writing off the loans of those on lower incomes after a 30- or 40-year period. Added to that, total student debt is now more than £267 billion.

In any shift away from student loans, or making terms and conditions more favourable, costs add up quickly. Around £22 billion is loaned to students each year - a large amount of money.

As such, I think the Government is right that the system should be improved incrementally. From 2028/29, we're reintroducing grants for low-income students, and uprating maintenance loans in line with inflation, after years in which the overall value of these has fallen by 20%.

Local apprenticeships

Last updated February 2026

In the 2024/25 academic year, more than 1,300 people started apprenticeships across the wider Warwick District (Warwick, Leamington and Kenilworth). Many of these were at companies such as National Grid, Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover – all of which offer globally competitive apprenticeship programmes – as well as an array of Warwick and Leamington-based companies.

I firmly believe that apprenticeships provide fantastic opportunities here in Warwick and Leamington, giving people the skills they need advance their careers. However, equally, I know that options can often still be limited, and many who hope to start an apprenticeship are unable to do so.

As such, I am pleased that the Minister for Work and Pensions has announcing sweeping reforms to apprenticeships. Crucially, these changes include cutting the bureaucratic hurdles which deter many smaller businesses from taking on apprentices – not least the faintly ridiculous three year wait for new apprenticeship schemes to be approved. These changes are long overdue and should be a win-win for both businesses, who will be able to benefit more easily from local talent, and the apprentices, who will gain skills and experience.

In the meantime, I encourage everyone – and particularly any young people considering options after school – to investigate the apprenticeship options which already exist. You might be surprised about the range of options that are available.