The present furore regarding student loan repayments in England should be no surprise. Once the burden of graduate debt starts to permeate the lives of those not only on lower salaries but also those in and from the middle classes, the political backlash begins.
This has been seen most clearly in the US, the other country where student debt has reached a peak – and where politicians’ responses offer some pointers for the Labour government in England.
With total student debt at nearly $1.7 trillion (£1.3 trillion) – averaging more than $40,000 for each of more than 40 million borrowers – student loan forgiveness was an important part of Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in 2020. Once elected, Biden initially attempted to…