Student loans will take 40 years to repay... as wealth continues to move from young to old

Even if graduates do better over the course of their careers, this is still profoundly unfair as older generations receive an ever-larger share of the nation’s tax take, writes James Moore

Students protesting higher fees: those with wealthy parents may be cushioned from the blow (PA)

A stealth tax on students in England, said Labour of the government’s planned reforms of student financing, and that is indeed what it amounts to.

A complicated one, for sure, with some sugar to help the medicine go down. Annual fees will be frozen at £9,250 for another two years and student loan interest rates are being cut to match the retail price index (RPI).

The flip side is that school leavers who go on to higher education will be making repayments for up to 40 years, rather than a maximum of 30 at present. The income level at which they start will also be reduced from £27,295 to £25,000.