STAGGERING STUDENT DEBT REACHES A RECORD £18 BILLION - MULHOLLAND

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 12th Jun 2007

Leeds MP and Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson, Greg Mulholland, has highlighted new official figures released today showing that the total student debt in the UK is now £18 billion. This is more than the Gross Domestic Product of Slovenia or if the debt was in pound coins placed on top of each other, the pile would reach around the moon and half way back.

Commenting, Mr Mulholland said:

"The Government is burdening graduates with a mountain of debt as they start out in life.

"Students who already struggle to fund their way through university, particularly those from the poorest backgrounds, will undoubtedly be put off applying at the thought of being lumbered with huge debts by the time they graduate.

"Ten years of Labour have created a shameful situation where the ability to pay, not the ability to learn, determines who goes to university.

"These are ministers who all benefited from free university education but are happy to pull up the ladder of opportunity behind them."