LABOUR “cannot be trusted” on their pledge to keep universities free in Scotland after tuition fees were hiked in England, the SNP have said.
Tuition fees are set to rise for the first time in eight years after they were frozen at £9250.
Universities will be able to increase fees in line with inflation from September next year up to £9,535 per year, the UK Education Secretary confirmed on Monday.
Scottish Labour have insisted their position remains unchanged from a promise in the 2024 manifesto which said that the party were “committed to free tuition for Scottish students attending Scottish universities”.
But the SNP have argued that Labour’s move south of the Border showed the party could do the same if it came to power after the 2026 Holyrood election.
SNP MSP Evelyn Tweed (above), the deputy convenor of Holyrood’s education committee, said: “Whether in Scotland, England or Wales, history has shown that under Labour governments, tuition fees go up – Labour simply can not be trusted on tuition fees.
“This latest increase by the UK Government will burden a whole generation of students south of the border with even higher levels of debt.
“Throughout their time in office, even Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson didn't go as further raising tuition fees – that Keir Starmer has done so after only months in Number 10 shows exactly where his priorities lie.”
Tweed said that SNP rule had seen “record numbers of Scottish students securing places at our universities”.
Recent figures showed that the percentage of Scottish students from the poorest backgrounds was 15.4% this year, up from 14.6% in 2023.
Tweed added: “This progress has only been made possible because the SNP abolished Labour's tuition fees when we came to office – and we will never let them be re-imposed on Scotland's students."
Ross Greer, the Scottish Greens' education spokesperson, said: "Anas Sarwar should not only condemn this decision, he should show some leadership by instructing Scottish Labour MPs to oppose it. Most importantly though, he must rule out any attempt to inflict tuition fees on students in Scotland."
Chris McEleny, the Alba Party's general secretary, said: "One of the greatest policies Alex Salmond ever delivered was free education. Thousands have benefited locally and close to one million across Scotland.
“ If Labour had their way they would be backing new Tory leader Russell Findlay’s call for free education to be scrapped.
"We should be under no doubt that a Unionist coalition at Holyrood will see the end of the social contract that so many fought so long and hard to deliver for the people of Scotland.”
A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “Scottish Labour’s position remains unchanged – we are committed to free tuition for Scottish students attending Scottish universities.”
