Keir Starmer has confirmed he is likely to abandon his pledge to scrap university tuition fees if Labour wins the next election.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday morning, the Labour leader said he would probably “move on” from the promise.
Under Jeremy Corbyn, Labour fought the 2017 and 2019 general elections on a manifesto commitment to scrap fees.
During the 2020 Labour leadership campaign, Starmer pledged stick to that policy.
Universities in England can currently charge students up to £9,250 a year.
But asked about it on Today, he said: “We are likely to move on from that commitment, because we do find ourselves in a different financial situation.”
Starmer said the party would, in the coming weeks, “set out a fairer solution” than the current situation.
“We are looking at options for how we fund these fees. The current system is unfair, it doesn’t really work for students, doesn’t work for universities,” he said.
It came after the decision to ditch the pledge was first reported in today’s edition of The Times.
Starmer first hinted during an interview with the BBC in January that he could scrap his leadership promise.
“Looking at the damage that’s been done to the economy, Rachel Reeves and I have had to be very clear that we will only make commitments that we can afford the next general election. So we’ll need to look at that promise again,” he told the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme.
In an interview with the Andrew Neil Show in March 2020, during the Labour leadership contest, Starmer was asked: “So university tuition fees being scrapped will be in a Starmer manifesto?”
He said: “Yes. That’s why it’s a pledge.”