UK Taxpayers Will Face a 2nd Bank Bailout if Planned Student Loans Privatisation Goes Ahead

A previously unseen report, commissioned from the Rothschild Bank on behalf of the government, reveals plans to sell off student loans taken out since 1998 and retrospectively raise the interest rates paid by graduates to increase the attractiveness of the loan book to private buyers.  This could leave 3.6m graduates facing sharp rises in their student loans repayments, while the tax payer stands as guarantor in the event students default on the debt, paying up to ensure the private investors never lose a penny.

First Came the Fees

Previously, tuition fees were capped at £3,000 a year.  One of the first acts of the Coalition government was so introduce a new ceiling of £9,000 a year (despite Liberal Democrat pledge to scrap tuition fees altogether) – trebling the potential fees payable by students.

It’s hard to believe that a little over a decade ago, we viewed higher…