Labour¡¯s shadow education secretary has pledged that the party will ¡°change the way students pay for their time at?university¡± in?England.

The comments by Bridget Phillipson, in?her speech to the Labour Party conference in?Liverpool, notably avoided mention of?the word ¡°fees¡±. But whether that omission was a?matter of?presentation or?substance was a?question left unanswered in?her brief comments.

¡°We¡¯ll change the way students pay for their time at university, so?none of our young people fear the price they¡¯ll pay for the choice they¡¯d like,¡± said Ms?Phillipson.

Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has previously announced that Labour was dropping its Corbyn-era policy to?abolish tuition fees and fund universities through public spending ¨C but he has not committed to a successor policy.

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Ms Phillipson earlier this year wrote a?Times article on?student finance that referred to changes to the existing system that could, she said, ¡°reduce the monthly repayments for every single new graduate without adding a penny to government borrowing or general taxation ¨C Labour will?not be?increasing government spending on?this¡±.

That appeared to be a reference to modelling by London Economics, commissioned by the University of the Arts London, that showed that a?¡°stepped repayment system¡± where higher-earning graduates pay more could save the government money while removing ¡°regressive features¡± of the changes to?loans that took effect in?September.

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Ms Phillipson also addressed the Conservative attack on the last Labour government¡¯s target for higher education expansion, described by Rishi Sunak as ¡°one of?the great mistakes of the last 30?years¡± and prompting an accusation from Sir Keir that the prime minister was against ¡°working-class aspiration to go to university¡±.

The shadow education secretary said of the Tories: ¡°Degrees are for their children, not ours: it¡¯s never their kids¡¯ choices or chances that they¡¯re keen to wind back. Student debt for nurses, for young people starting out, looking to buy a home and build a family ¨C not their problem. Other people¡¯s children.

¡°The education secretary has made their ethic her motto: ¡®nothing to?do with me¡¯. Conference, I?tell you, we will change every part of it, and we will change it for good. In every part of our system, in every year of children¡¯s lives, in every corner of our country, Labour will be the party of high and rising standards.¡±

Meanwhile, Ms Phillipson announced that Sir David Bell, the University of Sunderland vice-chancellor and former Department for Education permanent secretary, would lead what the party billed as a ¡°major new review to shape Labour¡¯s modern childcare system¡±.

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john.morgan@timeshighereducation.com